Not All as It Seems
by Ozuma and Blank's Lil' Kitten
Summary: Naruto high school story with a twist. Miraculously updated, with more hidden references than you can shake a stick at! TenTen has now joined the crew. Hooray! Written in book-format, hence the long chapters. Review, please.
1. Prologue

Goodness, I haven't written in ages, have I? (the last time I did was when I decided to start working on a novel I wish to eventually have published - I was an emotional-wreck that day, as I'd been sexually-harassed, and I poured every single bit of those emotions into the prologue)  
Anyway, this is an idea I had YEARS back, and I've written and re-written it countless times; this'll hopefully be the last time I re-write it.

Before we get started, I shall admit this is a self-insert (I really don't see what the problem is if one doesn't go overboard - they're extremely fun to write; and it is NOT one of those girl falls into the anime world where nearly all the male characters fall in love with her in 2 seconds stories, that's just no fun)  
Plus, how many fics will one find where there are some mentionings of a wee island that is Gozo (plenty of info to find about it on the net), my home-island?

Title: Not All as It Seems  
Warnings: Comedy, lots and lots of the comedy!  
Pairings: Mostly indecisive, if one has suggestions/requests, don't hesitate to ask! The 100% sure ones are Gaara/Young (she's the character I created for the novel I'm writing, and is very special to me) and Shikamaru/Temari (I just love it)  
For the rest, I guess we'll see how the story starts flowing and take it from there (along with your suggestions and requests - please, bear in mind I have a right to say no if it's a pairing I don't like, and Sasuke is NOT going to be in this story; I just can't stand him, and I don't want to use any character-bashing whatsoever - I want this story to be as family-friendly as possible)

Disclaimer: I do not, and never will, own the series Naruto and its many characters. If I did, not only would I be super-duper rich, I'd give Gaara the screen-time he truly deserves and make sure he ends up with Sari-chan! **giggle**

Prologue  
(quick note - you don't have to read this mini-chapter; it's just an introduction with some extra comedy thrown in. If you decide to skip on to chappie 1 -where familiar faces abound- feel free to do so, but if you do enjoy the extra comedy, might as well read on)

2nd December, 2002 (Monday)

This was the day which I'd been looking forward to since the nightmare that is school started this year; the start of the Christmas holidays! Not only that, but this was the day I'd been promised I could go pick up my own copy of _Final Fantasy IX_ from my local video-game store. Let me tell you, buying a game here in Gozo is no easy feat; they take much longer to make it into Malta than most countries, some of which don't even make it at all, and they're expensive to boot.  
Oh, I forgot to introduce myself properly. I'll start by saying my name is Claire (I hate that name!) Piscopo; I get teased a lot about my last name in school. I am 14 years old and very much average in height, going no more than a mere 5'1". My hair is pretty long, reaching just about my middle back and is dark brown in color, and extremely messy (I get plenty of scoldings about that from my parents). My eyes are green in color with shades of blue and gray in them. I hate to say it, but I'm pretty pale-skinned compared to the rest of my family.  
Now, I shall add I have two brothers; one way-spoiled 5-year-old brother (if I hear of one more 'cute' thing he did, I swear I'll run away!) and a much older brother, who actually lives and works in Malta, but comes to Gozo from time to time (we've never been able to see eye-to-eye). To clear the rumor that middle children always get the short end of the stick, it's NOT an old wives' tale!  
I'm not like most girls in Gozo, constantly fretting about the latest fashion (I could really care less), the latest hairstyle, when Britney Spears' next album is coming out, goggling about boys bla bla bla… (well, I must admit I have a bit of a crush, too) My greatest pleasures come in the form of 4 things: chocolate (num!), music (Nobuo Uematsu is my hero), _The Golden Girls_ (the best show ever created in the universe) and RPGs, which brings me to why I was so looking forward to this very day.  
Like I said, I was to pick my copy of _Final Fantasy IX_ today, and since we had no school for the rest of the year, I could play it to my heart's content once I had it in my possession at last.

v-v

'I can't sleep,' I thought out loud, constantly tossing and turning in my bed. I was too excited, knowing that in a few hours, I'd own the latest installment to the most wonderful RPG series of all time.  
I took a peek at my clock, and was annoyed to find it was still 1 in the morning. Punching the pillow a few times, I plopped my head back on the bed and tried as hard as I could to get back to sleep…  
No such luck…  
Slipping out of bed, I put on my slippers and made my way to the sitting-room. Having made sure the bedroom doors to both my parents' and brother's rooms were closed, I plugged in my trusty PSOne, put in my copy of _Final Fantasy VII_ and decided that I'd play until I felt sleepy again.  
The moment I heard the clock chime 6 times, I realized I'd better turn my game off. Holidays or not, I wasn't supposed to be playing at these hours. Since I knew this game like the back of my hand, I easily found a "Save Point", quickly turned the console back off and grabbed the nearest book I could find just as the master bedroom was opening. (phew! What the, why am I holding a _Pokémon_ book?)  
Quickly tossing the book away as though I'd been burned, I picked up the remote. It was 6 o' clock, and that to me meant I could catch up on _The Golden Girls_!  
"How come you're so up so early?" came my dad's greeting. (my dad is a pretty reasonable and all-around nice guy with a great sense of humor; he rarely gets mad, but when he does, RUN AWAY!)  
"I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd watch _The Golden Girls_," I replied. Thankfully, it was the truth. I'm a terrible liar, and every time I attempt it, I can't look at anyone in the eye, so they'd know I was lying anyway.  
Nodding at me as though saying, 'what's new?' he proceeded into the kitchen to make breakfast; Dad was always an early-riser, and with good reason. Running one of the few music stores in Malta meant he had to take the early ferry there everyday (he sold tons of musical equipment and kits, specializing in top-brand speakers and pianos).  
Just as my show was starting, I made a quick trip to my little secret corner in the kitchen to get myself a bottle of orange soda - no sodas of any shape, size, form or color were allowed in this house, no matter what, so I kept a little secret stash for myself with my allowance. Hiding the bottle behind my back, and trying to look as innocent and casual as possible, I sidled back to the couch to watch some real classic comedy.

v-v

Before I forget, I live in the capital city of Gozo, Victoria. I was born and raised there, but admittedly, thanks to my incredibly bad sense of direction, there are still plenty of places I get lost in this pretty small city.  
However, getting to my local gaming-store is plenty straightforward and I can get to it from my house in just fifteen minutes on foot.  
It was at last 8 in the morning, when most stores around here start to open for the day.  
My dad had already gone for work, and Mom said she had to go somewhere, but wouldn't really give me any information as to where (this has been happening a lot lately, but with my beloved game firmly in my mind, I found myself not pondering much about it). Thankfully, she took my brat of a brother with her. There's no way he's going to ruin the greatest day of my life with his 'I'm so cute' act.  
Dressed and ready, I piled a mountain of waffles onto a plate, covered them in as much maple syrup as was humanly possible, and proceeded to eat my breakfast at record-speed.  
Putting on my jacket and grabbing my little blue backpack, in which I carried all my essentials (wallet, Gameboy Advance, cellphone, iPod, headphones, reading glasses and a couple of games), I got out of the house, made sure the door was locked and speed-walked to Arkadia (the only decent shopping mall in Gozo, and the only one that sells video-games).  
30 minutes later (I got a little side-tracked, and bought some Coke Candy on the way), I was practically pressing my face on the glass where the 'Top 10' games were being shown. I whooped when I saw _Final Fantasy IX_ was in the first slot, earning me some funny looks from passers-by (definitely not fellow-gamers). I opened the door and before I could open my mouth to say which game I wanted, the nice girl that works there was handing me _Final Fantasy IX_ (I guess I was dropping in a bit more often than I thought to check if the game was available).  
"Would you like to try it here? You can for as long as you want," she told me with a smile, apparently reading the look on my face that was clearly stating, 'I wanna play it now!'  
"Oh boy, would I!" I said in absolute delight.  
Urgently ripping off the plastic from the box, I inserted the first disc into the ancient PSX in which us gamers could sample the games for sale, and for as long as we wanted (as long as there weren't many to try out some games, of course).  
It was noon by the time I bothered to look at my watch. Sheez, I can't believe she actually allowed me to play for all this time.  
Speedily putting the disc back in its box, I paid her for the game, carefully put it in my backpack, and with my deepest thanks, I went back outside of the game-store.  
Suddenly, my stomach began to growl really loudly. Placing my left hand on my chin, I decided to have lunch right here. We had a McDonald's in Arkadia, so I cheerfully made my way there… I shoulda known my great morning would lead to an annoying afternoon…

v-v

Thinking about what meal I was going to have, my smile turned into a complete frown when I realized that at the counter was this horrible girl from my school by the name of Marie-Georgette (snoot!), whose goal in life it seemed was to humiliate me at every chance she got, which was way too often if you ask me. As usual, she was with her two moron cronies, a brunette girl who looked like a broomstick with a big nose, and a blonde girl who more resembled a gorilla than anything else.  
Said gorilla-girl nudged my sworn enemy on the arm, and right on cue, they looked at me with the sneers they reserved just for me (how touching).  
"Well, if it isn't Claire Piscopo," she jeered in a tone that made it look like she was talking to either a 1-year-old or a loony. (she also has this irritating habit of always calling me Claire Piscopo, making me want to punch her square in the face every time)  
Rolling my eyes at her, I ignored her and stood as further away from the three amoebas as was possible. That didn't stop them, of course. They marched their way to me, and Ms. Broomstick actually pinched me hard on the arm… Oh, that does it!  
Asking the bloke behind me, who looked like he might have been a tourist, to hold my bag, I pounced on that cow, and pulled her hair as hard as my arms could tug.  
She screamed, apparently not expecting me to do this. These three only caught me in school, and I never risked getting myself into severe trouble because of them, so I would simply turn around and go to some other part of the school, gritting my teeth all the way. Today's reaction was from all these years of humiliation finally being let out.  
"Try and pinch me again, you stupid clown!" I yelled, "Touch me again, and you'll be missing some fingers!"  
Ignoring the massive temptation to slap her, I got back up, took my backpack and stormed out. Turning my head for a second, I saw the trio glaring at me, promising revenge. Rolling my eyes, I made my way back home.

v-v

So much for lunch…  
I was at home now, and had calmed down drastically (heck, I was quite pleased with myself for successfully fending for myself from those three).  
Mom still wasn't home, and there was nothing I could find that appealed to me. I'd already eaten the candy I'd bought, so I had nothing to munch on.  
Sighing, I put the kettle on. Some hot chocolate was the ticket.  
While I waited for the kettle to boil, I turned on the TV and channel-surfed. Yay! _Courage the Cowardly Dog_ is on! Completely forgetting the incident at McDonald's, I happily recited the intro along with the TV. After that, I poured the chocolate powder and hot water into a mug and lied down on the couch. Nothing like good cartoons and hot chocolate to clear away your nerves.  
Just as the commercials came on, the phone rang. Jumping in surprise, I grumbled and went to pick it up.  
"Hello?" I said, keeping my eyes glued to the TV in case Courage was back on. Ooh, Fruit Loops! (I wish they were still sold in Malta…)  
"What are you up to?"  
Ah, it was my mom. Maybe I could ask her to get me some take-out.  
"Watching some cartoons. Say…"  
Before I could ask, I was interrupted with, "Be sure to stay home! Your dad and I have very important news! Bye, dear!"  
Before I had a chance to respond, I heard a clicking noise signifying the end of the conversation. Well, that was unusual to say the least. She'd said everything in what sounded like an excited rush, not letting me say a word. I wonder what in the world she was talking about…  
Important news… Oh, man! I'm not going to have another baby brother, am I?  
Taking a sip of hot chocolate, I soon forgot about important announcements and baby brothers and was chortling loudly at Courage's attempts to warn Muriel and Eustace about the newest monster attacking Nowhere.

v-v

Some minutes ago both my parents called again to make sure I was still at home. They were on the way home now, and were quite anxious to tell me… whatever it was they wanted to tell me. Hands tucked behind my back, pondering what on Earth this so-called big news was, I was pacing back and forth in front of the front door.  
'Maybe we're going on some big fancy vacation,' I mused out loud. 'But then again, that would fall under exciting news.'  
'Or maybe THEY'RE going on some big fancy vacation, leaving me to take care of Simon, and they finally decided now was the right time to spring it on me!' (if that was the case, I'd definitely run away!)  
Just as I was thinking of the possibility that maybe I was adopted and they knew the day to tell me had to come eventually, the door burst open causing me to jump a mile in the air.  
"What's this big news? Tell me before I explode!" I demanded once my feet met the floor again.  
"Hello to you to," came the amused reply from my mom.  
My brother was already on the couch, flipping the TV on to _Pokémon_… Argh!  
"Let's discuss this in the bedroom," Dad suggested, noting the annoyed look on my face.  
"Yeah, let's!" I agreed, already racing my way along the corridor to their room… Wait, did he say 'discuss'?

v-v

"Moving? Are ya serious?" I managed a gasp after having finally been told the truly big news.  
They both nodded, looking quite pleased indeed.  
"Where to? If it's in Malta, could I just stay with Nanna and Nannu instead? I don't wanna live in Malta!" (most people were just so posh in Malta… I cannot stand the idea of leaving Gozo to be with people that are hard to talk to)  
"Actually, you will like where we're going," said Mom in a knowing voice.  
"We're moving to China?"  
My parents looked at each other as though quietly asking if I was truly this clueless. Well, she's the one that said I will like where we're going, and I like China.  
"You might also like San Francisco."  
You know how sometimes in sitcoms, when something really good happens, you hear a choir going, "Hallelujah!" I could have sworn I was hearing said choir at that very moment. I was stunned speechless, and pinched myself hard on the wrist to make sure I wasn't dreaming… Owie! Okay, not dreaming…  
It's amazing, really. For years I'd been fantasizing of seeing this great city, and now out of the blue I'm being told we're going to live there! Speaking of which…  
"How'd this happen? This is too random, even for me!"  
With that came a huge explanation of how'd they'd been working on this for at least 3 years, something about the business getting bigger… to be honest, most of it completely washed over me, so tremendous was my excitement that my biggest dream of living in the States was to be made a reality at long last.  
"When…?"  
"We start packing immediately. We'll be leaving next weekend," replied my dad.  
"Next weekend? Isn't that sorta fast? Did we already find a place? What about school?" Huh, what am I doing? I shouldn't be asking them THAT!  
"Everything's been sorted at last. All those years of working and preparations are now going to pay off."  
Well, since they put it that way…

End Prologue

Boy, this was most fun to write.  
Now, for some Author Notes. A lot of what I wrote about me here is true, with the exception that my older brother is only actually around a year older than me, but I needed to make this change to make the story work (he IS preparing to live in Malta, though). Those three nasty girls I mentioned were my nightmare in school. I absolutely despise them!  
Also, Gozo is a part of the Maltese Archipelago consisting of Malta, Gozo and Comino, and in fact the country itself is known as Malta.  
We'll see familiar faces in the next chapter, I didn't want to rush this first one to make them appear immediately. Where's the fun in rushing and making the plot inferior to what it should be?


	2. The Day I Met Naruto, Lee and Gaara

At last, the story starts for real.  
I decided to not post the Prologue chapter until I wrote and finished Chapter 1, then post them together. Why, you may ask? Well, I figured not many people would read it without any familiar faces in there, plus you don't HAVE to read the Prologue to understand what's going on. It's simply an introduction with some comedy thrown in (I do enjoy the comedy). And yes, there will be familiar faces in this installment. Hooray for us! **chuckle**

Title: Not All as It Seems  
Warnings: Mo' comedy, mo' comedy, mo' comedy (ah, shut up!)  
Pairings: Inspire me with your reviews, PMs and suggestions! My confirmed ones are Gaara/Young (I explained who she is in the Prologue) and Shikamaru/Temari (aw, come on! Y'all admit it's such a cute coupling!)

Wee Author's Note: If there's a character that doesn't appear in the chapter, fear not as they may very well appear in the future. However, feel free to give me requests on whom you'd like to make an appearance.  
2 rules on this one: Don't make me include characters you hate just to see them bashed. I do not write character-bashing stories; if it's a character I'm not familiar with, I'm afraid I'll have to say no, because I doubt I'd portray them correctly.

Disclaimer: **sob** I simply do not own Naruto or any of its hundreds of characters. I am not writing this for any profit whatsoever, simply for fun. I'm merely borrowing the characters and will return them once I'm done. (aw, can't I keep Gaara and Lee at least, pwease?)

Chapter 1  
The Day I Met Naruto, Lee and Gaara

6th December, 2002 (Friday)

At last! The blessed day has come at last!  
I must have shouted that at the top of my lungs at least two hundred times. This did earn me some very concerned looks from my parents, having clearly mistaken my excitement for senility or something. What is it with parents not showing excitement the way us kids did? I'll never understand it.  
For the umpteenth time, I took a look round my bare room, just to be sure I didn't forget to pack anything. Yep, all the shelves were cleared of my action-figure collection, the cupboards were emptied of all my games and consoles, there wasn't a single stuffed toy left on my bed.  
'Shucks, this looks like the bedroom of the dead at best!' I thought to myself.  
"Claire, are you ready in there!" I heard my dad call.  
Paling just a touch more than I already was and with butterflies in my tummy, I replied, "Coming! Coming!" (I guess I failed to mention that one of my biggest fears was flying, and now that we were soon going to do just that, my excitement turned just like that into pure nervousness)  
Taking a deep, deep breath, I slipped on my trusty dark gray denim jacket, grabbed my backpack and started wheeling my new luggage (purple, yay!).

v-v

Two flights and twenty orange soda cans later, and we were finally at the airport! Ground! Sweet, lovely, beautiful ground! I was very much tempted to drop to the cold floor and kiss it, I was so glad to be off the plane, but I quickly thought against it.  
'That might be something that would convince them I've really gone off my rocker,' I scolded myself.  
Thankfully, my brother had fallen asleep during most of the trip and hadn't woken up yet, deep-sleeper that he was.  
I went and grabbed a trolley, then we made our way to the Baggage Claim. Watching the conveyor belt bring out one luggage after the other, I kept my eyes wide open for any sights of purple… Ah, here it comes!  
Dad grabbed it and put it in the trolley. Shortly after, he tossed another and another. That's all of them.  
After we'd gone through all the procedures to which I really paid no attention, we were finally out of there.

v-v

With my face pressed to the passenger window of our rental car, I found myself simply unable to take my eyes off the hundreds of buildings we passed, not to mention the ones in the distance, all lit up for the evening.  
"Golly! San Francisco sure is prettier than in the pictures!" I said in appreciation.  
My parents nodded in agreement.  
A couple of hours later of watching the sights though, I got pretty bored. I did have my Gameboy in my bag, but I dared not use it. I'd get carsick simply at the mere thought of doing something in a moving vehicle that involved reading.  
It was late anyway, might as well catch some shuteye myself until we got to our apartment.  
A few minutes later, or at least it felt like a few minutes later, I felt someone shaking me by the shoulder.  
"Wh-wha…?" I mumbled with a sleepy sigh.  
"We're here," came my mom's voice.  
My exhaustion fading in a split-second, I opened my eyes wide and was surprised to be staring at an afternoon sky, not the night sky. Yes, it was gray and covered in clouds, but it was definitely not night-time.  
"Huh? But it should be night! I saw the buildings all lit up and everything!" I said in surprise. The drive couldn't have been that long… could it?  
"You must have been dreaming that, dear. In fact, you fell asleep almost as soon as we got in the car," said Mom.  
Oh, whoops! I'd forgotten all about the time-difference!  
Raising my arms above my head in a stretch after having been confined in that car for hours, I freed my hair of its ponytail, much to my mom's approval, who simply hated it when I tied it back (causing me to tie or braid it as often as I could).  
"See there? There's your school right over on that street," my dad pointed with one hand, while holding a huge luggage in the other.  
I turned my head to where he was pointing, and sure enough, there was a huge, gorgeous old-looking building. No sooner had I glued my eyes onto this historical-looking building, then the huge double-doors burst open and out came a crowd of happy teenage students, all rejoicing that it was the weekend at last.  
"I'd forgotten that their holidays start later than when they usually do in Gozo," I muttered.  
Out loud I said, "Can I go and meet up with them? Who knows? I might make a new friend or two."  
Both of them nodded as if to say, 'Duh! Go do it!'  
Handing them my backpack, I sprinted to the school steps, determined to talk to the very next person that came out…  
In good old sitcom fashion, the next person to come out was a huge boy who looked so menacing, as if pounding people was his true joy in life.  
'Eesh! Very wrong number!' I gulped.  
"Can ya believe that old geezer? Who does he think he is, anyway?" came a loud voice.  
"Actually, I can." (my, this one sounded sexy!)  
"Really, Naruto! Sometimes I do not believe your antics."  
Pretending to whistle to myself, I studied the group of boys that now were in full view.  
The loud one happened to be much taller than I was (drat!); he had bright, blonde hair and shining blue eyes that clearly said 'trouble'. He was kinda cute, and that orange sweater with black sleeves he was wearing looked super-comfy.  
The one to his right was somewhat taller. He was wearing a strange green suit, and had a funny haircut (black hair/eyes) and really bushy eyebrows. Looking closely at his face, though, I liked him instantly. He looked like the type that no matter what odds he had going against him, he wasn't going to quit without giving it all he had.  
Nodding, I turned my head to the final of the trio. I swear I almost felt light-headed, and… Oh come on, am I drooling!  
Hastily wiping my mouth on my jacket's sleeve, I resumed my star… I mean studying of the boy.  
He looked to be a couple of inches taller than the loud one. Atop his head rested a thick mane of gorgeous flaming red hair, complete with bangs that I suddenly got the urge to brush out of his forehead (if my parents knew I was getting these giddy thoughts they'd kill me!). Just under these bangs, I noticed a most strange sign… was it a tattoo? Anyhow, the eyes. They were a nice teal, and held lots of intelligence but they looked kind too. To my delight, I noticed he was almost as pale as me! (I had had it up to here with seeing lots of tanned skin next to my snow white complexion)  
Uh oh, were they approaching… me? I panicked and quickly bent down, pretending my shoelace had come undone.  
"HIYA!" shouted blondie.  
Ouch, my ears…  
Looks like my feeble act wasn't fooling any of them anyway, so I got back up, rubbing my abused ears.  
"I'm not deaf, you know?" I said with a slight chuckle.  
"Cool! You have an accent!"  
"Naruto, behave yourself!" scolded the one in the green suit.  
"Well, she does!" he said defensively.  
"Uh, yeah. I just moved here," I attempted.  
"Really? From where? Are you from Canada?" the boy called Naruto asked in a cheery voice.  
"Do I sound like a Canadian?" I asked in horror.  
"Of course you don't," the black-haired boy said. I noticed the redhead said absolutely nothing during this whole exchange. Was he being shy? Do dudes get shy?  
"Where then?"  
With a wink, I said, "Europe."  
"Cool! You're European! But, where exactly?"  
I must admit, I was looking forward to this bit. Would I have them as confused as I imagined I would? I had best answer them and see.  
"Malta. Gozo, to be exact."  
Bingo!  
All three of them looked at me blankly.  
"Er, is that a new pizza-topping?" Naruto asked.  
"I must admit I have never heard of that place before…"  
Still, Red said nothing. Blast! His reaction was what I really wanted to hear.  
"Pizza-topping! Good one!" I said with a giggle.  
"Where exactly is it?"  
"Oh, it's actually very close to Italy, but don't bother looking for it on a world map. You won't find it," I replied matter-of-factly.  
Malta was lucky enough to be displayed (in the rare cases that it was displayed) as a mere dot, but Gozo and Comino never seemed to be at all.  
"Oh my!"  
"What, Lee?" shouted Naruto, suddenly worried.  
"We didn't even introduce ourselves, did we?"  
"Jeez, you're such a dork sometimes!" said Naruto with a playful thwack to Lee's head.  
"I am Rock Lee," he said ignoring Naruto, and shaking my hand. Boy, this guy had a grip that could break stones in a second!  
Shaking it back, I said, "Hiya, Lee! I'm Claire."  
"And I'm the great Naruto Uzumaki!" shouted said teenager, shoving Lee aside and shaking both my arms like he was trying out some new diseased dance.  
"All right, all right! Don't break my arms!"  
Pulling them back, I waited with bated breath to see if Dreamboat was finally going to say something.  
My heartbeat actually got pretty painful when he stepped right in front of me. I sure hope he couldn't hear it, how embarrassing would that be?  
Taking my hand in his, he (finally) said, "Sabaku Gaara."  
I couldn't help myself at the time; apparently, neither could Naruto, for together we shouted, "HE SPEAKS!"  
Whoops, this Gaara chap actually looked insulted. He let go of my hand (phooey!) and moved back a bit.  
"Come on, I was only teasing!" I said, feeling pretty bad.  
"Yeah man, me too!"  
"Naruto, you tease everyone!" Lee pointed out.  
"Whatever! Can we go eat now?" said Naruto, his hands folded behind his head.  
"Hm, I am pretty famished myself," said Lee.  
"Race ya!"  
Before I knew what was happening, both Naruto and Lee sprinted like the wind to who-knows-where.  
"Golly! Who set their butts on fire?" I asked Gaara.  
"They're always like that," he said simply.  
"What? All the time?"  
He nodded, actually chuckling a bit. Well, at least he didn't seem offended anymore. Phew!

v-v

"Ah! I'll have another!" Naruto shouted to the waitress.  
"That's your fifth bowl already!"  
"It's neat that you're so good at Math!"  
I never knew anyone to have this kind of an obsession with ramen before. It seemed to match my love for orange soda, I noted as I finished my third glass.  
"Yeah, I'd like a refill on my soda, too!" I added to the poor exasperated waitress.  
"Why so much orange soda?" asked Naruto.  
"I love orange soda," I responded, desperately trying to stop a burp from escaping my throat.  
"Just like how I love my ramen!" he said, high-fiving me.  
Lee had just finished his bowl of curry, setting his plate on the table.  
Even though this meal was Gaara's treat, he himself had nothing. He just sat there, looking somewhat bored with his arms crossed over his chest.  
Turning my head around, trying to spot the waitress with my orange soda, I noticed a table with a group of seven girls seated around it. They were looking at me in a way as if they wanted lightning to strike me or something.  
Poking my elbow into the redhead's arm, I asked, "Why are those girls looking at me as if they wanna kill me?"  
Both Naruto and Lee heard this question and looked at where I was facing.  
"Oh, don't worry about them. They always look at other chicks like that if they're anywhere near Gaara."  
With that, Naruto stuffed a fist into his mouth, and pounded the table with the other. He was shaking like a leaf with laughter.  
"Great, a psycho fanclub's after my blood," I said, joining him.

v-v

Finally, after Naruto had had his fill (I'd lost count after ten bowls), we went to his place. Actually, it was Lee's apartment, but he and Naruto were roommates.  
It was kind of strange once we stepped inside. Parts of it were immaculately tidy, with not a crumb or particle of dust to be seen, yet others were littered with school things, clothes, games and all other manners of things.  
"So, what do you wanna do first?" Naruto asked.  
Tapping my chin, I asked, "I wanna see your gaming collection."  
All three of them looked at me as though I'd suddenly sprouted a new pair of arms.  
"What? Girls can like games too!" I snapped.  
"Your favorite game being?" asked the blonde.  
"Final Fantasy VII," I responded automatically.  
"That's it?"  
"What? You want me to list ALL of them?"  
"Well… what's your favorite horror game?" he grinned, thinking girls couldn't possibly like those.  
"Resident Evil 2," I said, with a note in my voice that I hoped was a good enough hint for him to tell me whether he had the game or not.  
"Your favorite villain?" (shucks! What is this, 20 Questions?)  
"What? In Resi Evil? That would be Nemmy, of course!"  
"Oh yeah! That guy's cool! But why do people call the Nemesis Nemmy?" Naruto asked.  
"Beats me. We just do."  
"Well, I wanna kick your butt at Tekken!"  
"You're so random, but sure! I'll take that challenge!"  
With a most mischievous grin, he raced to his room to get the game.  
"Can I get you something? I am afraid he'll be in there a while," Lee said, indicating the mess here and there.  
"In that case, I'll accept a cup of tea," I said. "No milk, a little sugar."  
With a polite smile, Lee disappeared into the small kitchen.  
Tapping my feet, I tucked my hands behind my head and chanced a look at Gaara. What the? Was he doing… homework? On a Friday? No one does that, especially boys!  
Before I could ask him why on Earth he was doing his homework now, there came a bright flash, followed by a loud boom. Almost instantly, rain began to pound against the window.  
I practically squealed in terror as yet another flash came, and before I knew what I'd done, I was holding onto Gaara's waist for dear life.  
At that inopportune time came both Lee with my tea and Naruto brandishing a rather worn-looking Tekken 3 copy.  
"What is going on here?" asked Lee.  
Naruto let out an explosive snort. "Aw! 'Tis love at first sight!"  
Finally noticing my embarrassing position, not to mention the tall red-haired boy looking at me funny, I quickly let go.  
"Actually, I'm afraid of thunderstorms," I admitted, feeling my face turn redder than Gaara's hair.  
"You serious?" Naruto said with another laugh.  
"Ah shut up! It's not like there's nothing you're afraid of!" I said defensively.  
"Well, now that you mention it… Nope, nothing scares me!"  
With an annoyed sigh, I grabbed the cushion just behind me and slammed it upside Naruto's head.  
"Let's just play already," I said, accepting the tea from Lee. "And don't you dare be a cheapskate with Yoshimitsu!"  
"Yeah, yeah. I'll still win."

v-v

After around 30 minutes of battling (Lee was doing some press-up exercises and Gaara was back at his work), we ended up having an equal amount of wins.  
"Why do you always use Lei?" demanded Naruto.  
"His stances are helluva cool!"  
"Well, Law is cooler!"  
"No way, Lei!"  
"Nuh uh, Law!"  
"Lei!"  
"Law!"  
"Lei!"  
"Law!"  
Gaara suddenly slamming his current book shut interrupted our argument.  
"Uh, what were we talking about again?" I asked confused.  
"No clue," Naruto said happily.  
Lee was now performing one handstand after another. Wow, no wonder he was in such good shape! Best not to interrupt him.  
"Come on, Gaara, just one fight!" I begged for the hundredth time.  
"He's too chicken!" Naruto teased.  
"Yeah, man. No teenage boy hates games!" I said.  
He simply shook his head, and would not be persuaded.  
That is until Naruto started to do a funky chicken-dance right in front of him.  
"If I do this once, will you stop?" he asked quietly.  
"You betcha!" Naruto cheered.  
Shucks, when Gaara held Naruto's controller, I could very well see he meant it when he said he never played a game in his life.  
"This is gonna be SO funny!"  
"Talk is cheap, my son," I told Naruto. His randomness must be contagious…  
I, of course, picked Lei. Gaara on the other hand was still choosing, "How does this work?" or not…  
With a snort, Naruto showed him, and Dr. B was chosen.  
Poor Gaara really had no clue what he was doing, and in a few seconds we heard, 'K.O.!' and 'Lei Wins!'  
"Dude, that was so brutal!"  
"Couldn't agree more, pal."  
As if to punish us for being mean, a particularly bright flash followed immediately by a horrifyingly loud crash came, and we were all engulfed in darkness.  
"Oh, man!" I could hear Naruto grumble.  
"Ouch! You stepped on my foot, Naruto!" I moaned and pushed him away.  
"I'll get the candles!" came Lee's voice.  
The rain was still pounding furiously on the window's glass, and I felt around and grabbed onto the nearest hand and held on as tightly as I could.  
In a bit, Lee was back with a candle and handed it to Naruto. Then he was gone again to get some more.  
Uh oh, if I wasn't holding Naruto's hand…  
I quickly shoved both my hands in my pockets and held them there. No way was I gonna let the hyperactive blonde tease me again.  
"Now what?" Naruto asked, turning to face us.  
"We could do shadow puppets," I offered.  
The two boys looked at me most disapprovingly.  
"Jeez! I was just jokin'!" I snapped, then muttered "men…" just loud enough for them to hear.  
Before another pointless argument could ensue, Lee was back with three more candles, handing one each to Gaara and me.  
"Uh, let's see, do you guys own an instrument?" I dared.  
Lee shook his head, as if appalled by the very idea.  
"Nope, not me," Naruto answered.  
Pity…  
What to do? What to do?

End Chapter 1

Tee hee, this was even funner to write than the Prologue. Once I started, I couldn't stop.  
Just so y'all know, yes I am indeed afraid of flying and thunderstorms. As for the gaming, Tekken 3 is the first fighting game after Street Fighter I ever played. I thought it deserved an honorable mention here.  
Writing for Naruto, Lee and Gaara was also a treat. Can't wait to do it again. (I dunno if Lee speaks like this in the dub, but I noticed he speaks like that in the game Konoha Spirits, and I thought it was really cute, so I stuck with it)  
Now that it's all written, I'll post them and hope someone will like the story. But please, Please, PLEASE no flames! Be civil in your reviews, it's not the hardest thing in the world to do, after all.


	3. Thank You for Being a Friend

Meh, I was really tempted to just quit on this thing. Not a soul bothered to review, and the hit-count isn't exactly stellar. But I want to continue it just the same, because I'm having too much fun writing it. (and THANK YOU for the 1 person that put this story on Alert! At least I know someone liked it enough to wanna see an update, so here it is!)

Title: Not All as It Seems  
Warnings: Comedy here, romance there (it's fluffy stuff, really) and who knows what else my brain will think of  
Pairings: Seriously, even if you don't wanna review, drop me a wee PM and suggest/request something! Confirmed ones include Gaara/Young (I'll say it again, Young is a character from a novel I wish to have published someday) and Shikamaru/Temari

Disclaimer: I'm running outta funny ways to say that I do not own Naruto or any of its hundreds of characters. I can always dream that I do, but reality is cruel like that.

Chapter 2  
Thank You for Being a Friend  
[small note - I had given this chapter another name previously, but since a particular scene in this installment was greatly inspired by _The Golden Girls_, I thought it'd be neat to use the name of the theme song as the title; it's such a heart-warming song, I couldn't resist]

6th December, 2002 (Friday)

'Bored… Bored…!'  
The same word kept running through my head, over and over, like a really bad mantra. Power or not, Gaara was back doing his homework by his candlelight, whilst Naruto and Lee were engaged in a most exciting arm-wrestling match.  
Suddenly, my frustration getting the better of me, I stood up from the couch and shouted at the top of my lungs, "IEQFU!"  
All three of them raised their heads, looking rather taken aback at my sudden outburst. At the same time, they looked clueless at what in the world I had just said to them.  
"What the heck did you just say?" Naruto demanded, eyeing me like I was some kind of scary alien or something.  
"I meant to say 'stop'… I guess I said it in Maltese without thinking…" I said with an obvious grumble in my voice.  
"Neat, say something else!" the blonde grinned, clearly meaning what he'd just said.  
Giving said boy a smack upside the head, Lee asked me what was wrong.  
"Well, let's see… you have a guest over, and you two are arm-wrestling!" I groused, then pointed at Gaara, "and… and you're doing your homework! Surely that's not what you guys do when you have other friends over, right?"  
"You are absolutely correct!" Lee stated.  
"And another thing… Wait, did you say I'm right?"  
Lee nodded his head, smiling gently.  
"Ya know, I agree! Let's all do something really fun! Who cares that the power's out!" Naruto joined in.  
That's more like it.  
Before I did anything else, I opened up my arms and grabbed every single book and piece of stationery on the table, then tossed them all in the furthest room I could find, which turned out to be Naruto's bedroom.  
When I came back, I have to say Gaara looked none too pleased with me, but I'm sure he'll forgive me soon enough. Besides, we'll probably have so much fun, he'll forget all about that pesky homework.  
"I know, let's play 20 Questions!" I said with a beam. This was a good chance for me to get to know my new friends better, if they agreed to play, anyway.  
"Pass!" Naruto said at once.  
Lee seemed to be considering it. As for Gaara, he was practically ignoring me as much as was humanly possible. Jeez, what a baby!  
Placing my hands on my hips, I marched right in front of him and bent my head down so that we were face to face. Normally, I would never, ever do that sort of thing as I was actually really shy with new people; but this guy was really starting to get on my last nerves.  
"Are you that mad at me for stopping you with that homework of yours? Couldn't you do it later, like at your place? That, after all, wasn't the way to be spending time with your friends!"  
"Nobody asked for your opinion," he said back rather coldly.  
"Fine, ya big bocciagalupe! Do what you want! I'm going home!" (I guess I do watch a little too much _Golden Girls_)  
Straightening up, I walked to the door and began to turn the knob. Before my fingers even touched the cold metal, Naruto had grabbed me from around the waist and pulled me back. Lee followed suit by moving in front of the door, not intending to move away from it unless I took back what I said.  
"But I do wanna go home!" I shouted.  
"In that nasty storm? Forget it!" Naruto shouted back.  
"I'd more than happily walk through a hurricane if it means I can get away from HIM!"  
"I tell ya what. We'll go to my room, and I'll show you my gaming collection, just like you wanted earlier," the blonde said, for once in quite a calm voice.  
Slumping my shoulders, I nodded twice, then off we went.

v-v

"Wow! You have Metal Gear Solid!" I squealed, holding the box and wishing for the hundredth time that the power was back on.  
Putting his candle on the messy desk nearby, he smirked at me.  
"I'm going to pick up Sons of Liberty tomorrow. The demo was insane!"  
"Oh boy! Can I go with you?"  
"You bet!"  
Feeling much better, I placed the game back where I found it, then continued to browse through his huge collection.  
Just as my fingers had landed on an interesting-looking title, I heard a soft beeping sound coming from the kitchen, then next thing we knew…  
"YES! AT LAST!" we shouted together, and began to dance around the room like a couple of maniacs.  
The two of us carried on our whacky dance all the way to the sitting-room. Once we got there, Naruto wasted no time in slipping a game into his PSOne.  
"How are you feeling?" Lee asked me.  
"Tons better, thanks," I replied, unable to stop myself from playfully mussing up his hair.  
"Well, I was thinking, since it is a bit late, and the storm isn't letting up, would you consider spending the night here?" he asked.  
"Wow, Lee! That's really nice of you and all, but I didn't bring anything with me…"  
"We'll take care of everything!" Naruto piped in, liking the idea of a sleepover.  
Making sure that Gaara wasn't listening, I whispered to the two, "he's not gonna be staying too, is he?"  
"Of course he is! He's our pal!" Naruto said most defensively.  
Well, I couldn't argue with that logic, even if I was still seething at his rude behavior. And he'd seemed so nice before this stupid storm started…  
"I'll just make a quick call to my parents, then," I told them.  
Lee showed me into the kitchen. Whilst I made the call, he proceeded into making us all some nice hot chocolate.

v-v

Things must have been rather hectic at our apartment. My parents were only too happy to have me out of the way; however, they also made me promise that I must be home by noon, and that I'll start unpacking my stuff into my new room. Absolutely no excuses.  
"How come you don't have a single Final Fantasy game?" I asked Naruto for at least the thousandth time.  
"RPGs aren't my thing."  
"Have you even played an RPG before?"  
"Nope."  
"Then how could you possibly know if they're not 'your thing'?"  
"I just think that Final Fantasy VII is really overrated," he said in a matter-of-fact voice. Well, he said it. It took him a bit longer than I thought he would, but he indeed said it.  
"Well, you could try the others. I bought IX recently, and it's brilliant," I said. (he told me earlier his PSOne was modified, so we could play all my European games on it without any region-lock problems)  
Taking a look at the clock above the TV, I saw that it was already 9 o' clock.  
"Say, when are we gonna have dinner? I'm starving."  
"Already ahead of ya! I ordered us some Pizza Hut pizza 10 minutes ago."  
Yay! Things were definitely looking up again.

v-v

After we'd eaten, I decided I really wanted to take a shower and said so.  
"Alrighty! Let me get you some jammies!" Naruto said.  
I followed after him, refusing to be left alone with Gaara. (Lee had retired early)  
"What? I'm not wearing these!" I protested, holding the abomination of a pyjama as far away from me as was possible. It was a really bright orange with sleeves that barely made it to my wrists, and the pants' leggings only made it just above my ankles.  
"Sorry, that's honestly the best I can give you. The others are too big for you, you'd look like a potato sack."  
"When were you this short, anyway?"  
"Oh, that's from when I was 12," he said, resting his arms behind his head.  
Looking at him now, I again realized how tall Naruto was. Man, in two, three years he really shot up like a tree!  
"Fine, fine, I'll wear 'em… But I won't like it!"  
Realizing I was behaving a bit like a brat, I softened my voice and thanked him for being so nice to me.

v-v

Fifteen minutes later, I was washed and changed.  
It was so cold, though, that my teeth were chattering by the time I got the pajamas on.  
Naruto was more than eager to make me a cup of tea to warm me up, but I was too tired and cold to follow, so I sat down on the couch with my arms wrapped around me.  
From the corner of my eye, I saw Gaara reach into his bag… Bah, who cares! Reaching for the remote control, I decided to flip it onto the Lifetime channel. _The Golden Girls_ was to start in a few minutes, 2 awesome episodes! Lovely! Just as I was about to change the channels, I felt a very warm, very soft material being wrapped around my shoulders. Looking down in surprise, I saw a nice cotton blanket that felt really soft to the touch.  
"You'll freeze in those," he pointed out.  
"Don't think this is supposed to make me forgive you for acting so childish earlier, buster!" I said.  
"That's not why I gave it to you," he muttered. Hm, he did seem pretty sorry about before. Actually considering forgiving him there and then, I was quickly interrupted when Naruto came back with the tea.  
"Perfect timing," I said with a smile, as I heard the familiar, cozy theme song to my most favorite show of all time start to play.

v-v

Some hours later, we were all tucked in bed. However, I was having a most difficult time getting to sleep. The rain was still pattering loudly against the windows; thank the Lord the lightning and thunder had finally come to a stop.  
Changing sides on the futon for the umpteenth time, I tried to drown out Naruto's loud snoring by shoving my head underneath the pillow and covering up my entire body. Okay, so far so good, I can't hear him that much now… I can't breathe!  
Annoyed now, I tossed off the covers and threw the pillow at the blonde boy, somehow thinking that that would miraculously stop his snoring. Hey, did they just get louder?  
Sighing, I figured there was no way I'd be able to sleep through this racket. Being such a light sleeper truly is a curse… Taking back the fluffy pillow, I made my way to the couch and decided to try and sleep there.  
'If I ever get invited to sleep over here again, I'll make sure that I'm roomed with Lee,' I thought firmly.  
Placing the pillow on the armrest, I noticed that really wonderful cotton blanket folded neatly nearby. Ah, might as well… However, as I made to (a little too eagerly) grab it, I noticed the light in the kitchen was on. Surely Lee didn't have some other extreme workout routine to do at 2 in the morning?  
Deciding to go and check, I wrapped the comfortable blanket round my shivering body and made my way inside.  
It wasn't Lee. And I could still hear Naruto snoring happily away like a really vibrant engine…  
"You couldn't sleep either, huh?" I asked, trying to keep my tone nice and polite. Not that it was really hard, I found. I simply could not stay mad at him. I'm not sure what it is about this redheaded boy, but I knew I wanted to be friends with him no matter what.  
"No," he replied, his hands wrapped around a steaming mug of coffee.  
Hm, excellent idea…  
"You know what? I think I'll join you. Unless you mind my company," I added rather hastily, unconsciously holding on tighter to the blanket.  
"No, not at all." Whoa, did he just smile? A small one, but definitely a smile! He really should smile more often; his features seemed to soften greatly when he did.  
"Great. Be back in a flash."  
With that, I made my way to the stove and put on the kettle. Rummaging around, I found a blend of coffee I liked.  
Pouring the coffee into a mug, I went back to the table but didn't sit down.  
"Eh, I guess I owe ya a bit of an apology, huh?"  
Gaara looked up from his coffee, actually looking surprised.  
"You?"  
"Yeah, I admit I have a really short fuse, and it got the best of me then. Sorry." Did I mention that I feel guilty really easily? And I sure felt guilty about my own behavior at the time.  
"I should be apologizing," he mumbled.  
"Ah, forget about it. That power-out made us all cranky," I joked.  
"But…" he began.  
Shucks, looks like I wasn't wrong about him after all. Placing my mug on the table, I walked behind him and without really thinking, I wrapped my arms around his slumped shoulders.  
"I'm telling you, it's okay. It's water under the bridge now."  
Hm, he's lucky, though. Usually, when someone makes me really mad, it can take days for me to cool down and forgive them. Yet, here I was, offering my own apology, telling him to forget it AND hugging him. This was totally out of character for me.  
Whoops, I found me again. Shyness having kicked back in (most rudely, I may add), I let go and sat down on the other chair.  
"So, how come you couldn't sleep?" I asked, taking a sip of my coffee. Wow, what a terrific blend! I'm gonna tell Mom to buy me some of this! Along with lots of Fruit Loops and Lucky Charms!  
"Insomnia," said Gaara simply.  
"Oh. I've never had trouble with that. Is it really bad?"  
"It can be, yes."  
"Bummer."  
I raised an eyebrow when I heard an unexpected chuckle.  
"What?"  
"At times I forget you're not American, with the way you speak."  
"Oh, that. People tell me that at times. Maybe I should lay off the TV a little," I said with a tiny chuckle of my own.  
"How about you?" he asked.  
Giving him a confused look, he asked again, wanting to know why I was awake at this hour.  
"Bah, you won't believe how loud that kid can snore! I'm gonna sleep on the couch tonight."  
"You'll be really cold."  
"Naw, not while I have this super-comfy blanket," I said, rubbing my fingers in its soft material. I swear, it was like being wrapped up in a cloud. "Where did you buy this thing? I want one."  
"I didn't," he said, his eyes seeming to light up.  
"Then whoever bought it for you has great taste."  
"No one bought it."  
"No kiddin'? Who made this?"  
In a soft voice, which I barely heard, he said, "my mother."  
Ah, of course. There's something about Moms, not to mention Grandmas, being able to knit the most comfortable things known to all mankind. That explains everything.  
"Aw, I wish MY mom would knit me something like this! She loathes knitting like you won't believe," I said enviously.  
"Don't you know how to knit?" he asked, sounding curious.  
"Me? I can't even sew on a button, let alone knit a big ole blanket…"  
Deciding now was a good time to change the subject before I revealed any more of my shortcomings with knitting and all my embarrassing attempts at it, I asked, "So, got any heroes?"  
"I can't tell you that," he responded in a firm voice.  
"Really? Mine are Whoopi Goldberg and Beatrice Arthur," I said without hesitation. To me, they were the most amazing women that ever walked on this planet.  
"Why is that?"  
"I really look up to them. They're so strong and dedicated, plus, it's no secret that they're excellent when it comes to comedy," I said, trying my best not to end my sentence with a 'duh!'  
Looking satisfied (I think) with my answer, he had a change of heart. "My elder brother."  
"Pardon?"  
"My hero is my elder brother," he repeated. "But that's between us, all right?"  
"My lips are sealed," I promised, placing my left hand across my chest.  
"Hey! What are you guys doing up?" suddenly came Naruto's loud voice, making me jump thirty feet in the air.  
"Can't you make your presence known like a normal human being?" Gaara demanded, sounding a bit annoyed himself.  
"Yeah, you prat!" I snapped, trying to calm my rapidly-beating heart.  
"Hey, you're supposed to be mad at each other, not me!" he defended, propping himself up on the counter.  
"Oh, that. We made up," I told him.  
"So then, how come you're up so early?"  
"Your snoring kept me awake the entire time," I pointed out.  
Naruto actually looked abhorred with what I just said.  
"I do NOT snore!"  
"Yes, you do too!"  
"I do not!"  
Okay, even my sleep-deprived brain could see where this conversation was going: nowhere. Looking at Gaara, I gave him a look that clearly said, 'do/say something!'  
"Sorry, Naruto, but you do snore."  
"That's downright ridiculous!" he shouted, not even really trying to keep his voice down.  
"Keep it up, and that'll be two people you've woken up," I warned.  
"Whatever, I just wanted a glass of milk anyway!"  
Having said that, he went to the fridge, his nose in the air.  
"Don't tell me I have to apologize to him too," I muttered, rubbing my aching head.  
"No. He'll have forgotten all about this by the time he properly wakes up."  
That was good at least.  
Minutes later, Naruto came back out looking both grumpy and goofy. All over his upper lip was a milk-moustache. Before I could let him know about it though, he'd already slammed the door to his room shut.  
"Now are you absolutely positive I won't have to apologize to him?"  
"I'm sure. Besides, you did nothing that would warrant an apology," he stated.  
Well, if he's putting it that way I'd better stop feeling guilty pronto.  
Reaching out, unable to resist the urge I had earlier when I first saw him at the school, I brushed away the flaming-red bangs from his eyes. Hey, that reminds me!  
"Is that a tattoo I'm looking at?" I asked. (oh, man! His hair is so soft! Much, much softer than the blanket)  
"It is," he answered, pursing his lips.  
"Not that I would, but if I did get one, my parents would have killed me for doing anything of the sort."  
"I was dared," he snapped.  
Heh heh, I didn't realize this was a touchy subject.  
"Well, now we know my man Gaara is no chicken," I said, a loud snort escaping my throat. (ouchies!)  
Heaving an annoyed sigh, he smacked my hand away from his forehead.  
"All right, all right, I'll stop teasing. But seriously, weren't your parents upset?"  
"My father was furious, but I'm used to that." He looked so uncomfortable then, I knew talking any further about his old man was a definite no.  
"Um, what about your ma?" I chanced.  
"She was extremely disappointed with me."  
"Ah, but you're impossible to stay mad at for long," I said, remembering how quick I was to forgive him. "Anyhow, when you stop and look at it, it's actually really nice. And I hate tattoos, so that says something."  
He didn't look all that convinced.  
Kicking myself for bringing up such a sore topic, I blurted, "Say, how would you like to come over to my apartment tomorrow and help me unpack my things? I'd really appreciate it."  
"All right."  
Jeez, if I felt bad at losing my temper earlier, now I felt like a complete cow.  
"I think I'll go to bed now."  
With that, I was left alone at the table, feeling like a moron.

v-v

"Claire, Claire! Wakey, wakey, eggs and bacey!"  
"Wha…?" Oh dear, my back's killing me!  
"How come you fell asleep at the table?"  
"Let me make you some breakfast."  
"Did you stay like this all night?"  
Standing up and trying to rub the sleep from my eyes, I saw all three boys looking kinda worriedly at me.  
"Well, I'm going to regret having done that for the rest of the day…" I mumbled, rubbing my stiff shoulders.  
I slowly walked to the couch, lying flat on all three seats. With the blanket still wrapped around me, I picked up the pillow and placed it above my face to block the sunlight from hitting my face.  
Before I had my eyes closed for even five seconds, said cover was quickly thrown away. In its stead was a mug of hot chocolate being held just under my nose.  
"All right, already," I yawned, and accepted the warm beverage gratefully.  
Sitting properly on the couch, I took a tiny sip.  
"What were you thinking?"  
Ah, I didn't realize it was Gaara that had given me the drink.  
"The better question is, what wasn't I thinking?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Oh, come on! You have me feeling beyond guilty here!" I said with a huff.  
"You thought I was mad at you?" he asked.  
"Well, yeah… no… a little bit…"  
"I'm not," he assured me.  
I demanded he look me in the eye and tell me that again, so he did. I felt so mega-relieved, I quickly put the pesky mug down, and gave him a huge, apologetic hug.  
"Aha! I knew there was something going on with you two!"  
Ugh, but Naruto had the worst timing in the history of the universe.

End Chapter 2

Another chapter I had tons of fun writing, even though it took on a mind of its own, explaining why there's more fluff than comedy this time around. Still, it gave me a warm and squishy feeling inside, and I wrote it! That's a nice feeling.  
Another couple of titbits revealed - I am truly a very light sleeper and had a REALLY bad experience with a snoring roommate some years back when I had to spend 3 long days at the hospital; and I feel guilty about even the smallest of things I do, even when it's an accident.  
About the hero thing, my guy hero is (as I wrote in the prologue) Uematsu-sama and always will be, whereas my women heroes are indeed Whoopi and Bea. I really need not say why Whoopi brings new meaning to the word awesome, and there are so many reasons for Bea (especially her animal-rights work). I was absolutely heartbroken when my best friend told me she'd read that Bea had passed away. To this very day, I still look up to her as the greatest woman that ever lived. May she rest in peace and God bless her.  
Oh yes, at first I was going to have Gaara say that his hero was Naruto (it's most obvious in the show how much he grew to idolize and look up to Naruto) but I simply could not resist him saying that Kankurou was his hero. I just love how close they grew in the series, and the bond they have is very much unshakable and so strong. (I actually wish that I have the same relationship with my brothers that Gaara and Kankurou have, alas…)  
Well, that's that for now. I really hope to get at least 1 review for this soon. I have no intention of quitting this even if the review-count stays 0 till the end, but I sure would like to get someone's opinion on this story of mine (at least I got positive feedback from my best friend, so that alone makes me quite happy).


	4. My First Weekend in San Francisco…

Oh my! Two miracles for the price of one!  
Miracle 1, another update! (dum dum dum!)  
Miracle 2, A REVIEW!

My Thank You Corner… er, thingy…  
DidiTwitches – for not only putting my story on her Alert list, but also giving me that ever coveted review (a most nice one at that)! Thank you so very much!  
Gaarasultimatefangirl247 – for putting my story on her Favorite list. At least I know you're enjoying it enough to fave it. :) **dances around  
Welp, that's that. It'd be so much bigger if more people actually hit some of those purty buttons at the bottom of the page…**

Title: Not All as It Seems  
Warnings: Lots of the comedy, lotsa fluff and definitely some sap later on (I'm a romantic girl at heart, what I can tell you?)  
Pairings: Gaara/Young (last time I'm saying this; Young is my protagonist for a novel I wish to have published), Shikamaru/Temari (it may be troublesome, but it's so gosh-darned cute!), Naruto/Sakura/Lee (love-triangle, people! Love-triangle! It's really for the comedy) and will attempt Naruto/Hinata (thanks again to DidiTwitches!)

Disclaimer: The fact is that if I DID own Naruto we wouldn't hear Sasuke's name every 5 minutes in 90 percent of the episodes. And also, if I did, I'd make sure it was brought back to Maltese shores, and since it's not been aired here for months and months and even more months, then that means I own nothing! **stuffs her Naruto action-figures in her pockets**

Be warned, this is going to be a lot longer than the previous chapters! Be sure to have lots of munchies and coffee handy!

Chapter 3  
My First Weekend in San Francisco…

7th December, 2002 (Saturday)

"Come on, please! What happened with you two after I went back to bed? Please, please, please tell me!"  
Gragh! Naruto must have asked this question a thousand times! He asked me during breakfast, he asked me when I was looking for my clothes, he asked me again while I was brushing my hair. At a point, I couldn't for the life of me find my jacket, which was because the overly imaginative blonde had hidden it and wouldn't give it back until I told. (thank goodness for people like Lee and Gaara, who found it stuffed under the seats of the couch)  
Now, we were on our way to my apartment, and Naruto STILL wouldn't back down.  
"For the last time, Naruto, nothing whatsoever happened!" I snapped. Good grief, I truly wasn't a morning-person.  
"But I saw you two hugging!" he insisted.  
"No, we weren't!" I shot back, "I hugged him…!" Whoops…  
"Aha! See!"  
Rubbing my super-sore temples, I looked to the other two much calmer boys for help. Somehow, even though his heart was in the right place, Lee actually made it worse.  
"Come now, Naruto! What is so amusing about this 'love at first sight' that people talk so much about?"  
'WHY!'  
I stopped in my tracks, turned around so I was facing them and held my hands in front of them. They all stopped, looking at me rather oddly.  
"Let's get a few things straight around here. I'm 14 and have no interest in falling in love right now! As for that hug, I was just apologizing to Gaara about a stupid thing I said, that's all! Are we clear on that? Now stop pestering me about it!"  
Having said that, I squared my shoulders, held my nose in the air and proceeded my walk back to the apartment building.  
"Hey! Hey! Wait up!" Naruto yelled, catching up to me and getting ahold of my arm.  
I turned my head to face him, actually expecting him to say something along the lines of being sorry that he misunderstood everything.  
"No, seriously, you can tell just me. What happened last night?"  
Oh, for Heaven's sake!  
With my free hand, I smacked him as hard as I could upside his head.

v-v

"Hey! This is one neat building!"  
I had to agree with my hyperactive friend. I hadn't really noticed it before, as I was too excited about meeting the other kids in the neighborhood, but now that I was looking at it, I found I really had to crane my neck up to see to the very top of the building.  
"Wow! We have no such apartment buildings in Malta! They would never fit!" I said in absolute marvel.  
"Well, what are we waitin' for? Let's go in!" Naruto shouted while bobbing up and down on his feet.  
Getting the key I was given earlier out of my front pocket, we made our way inside.  
Our apartment happened to be at around the middle section of the building (floor 50! Neat!), and everything looked just so posh and fancy. The carpeting looked like something out of an ancient castle and every piece of furniture had the glossiest wood I'd ever seen.  
Upon reaching the door to my new home, I swung it open.  
"Parents! I'm home!" I called.  
Closing the door behind him, Naruto began scanning the place like a whirlwind. Lee looked about him as though this unpacking business was going to be the most exhilarating of tasks, but Gaara was simply impossible to read.  
"Hey! Where is everyone?" I called again.  
"Claire, we're right here!" Naruto yelled with a tackle.  
"I was talking to my parents, you dolt!"  
"Oh! Why didn't you say so?"  
Never mind…  
Leaving the guys for a moment, I noticed a piece of paper on one of the many boxes littering the corridor. I picked it up and saw that it was a note from my folks. It said that they were at the new store that my dad now owned and they wouldn't be back till late at night.  
"Sweet! My brother's with them! HA!"  
"Wha?"  
"Naruto, I've been living here for one day and you've snuck up on me over a hundred times! You really need to quit doing that!"  
"That's something you'll quickly get used to," said Gaara (a miracle!) placing a hand on my shoulder.  
'Yikes! Did somebody just electrocute me? What's with the jolt I just felt?'  
"Girl, your face is SO red! Do you have a fever?" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, feeling my forehead.  
"I'm fine, just dandy. Hey, let's check out my room!" I said quickly, eager to get the subject about what color my face was changed immediately.  
"Excellent idea," Lee joined in.  
Each of us began opening doors, looking for one of the bedrooms that would be obvious it hadn't been slept in.  
"Guys! I found it!" I shouted.  
We shoved our way inside and I couldn't help but feel this wave of pleasure upon looking around the room. It was much bigger than my old one to start with. Across the bed was a huge window-seat that showed off the most beautiful view in the whole world. The walls were painted a nice pale shade of blue…  
"WOW! THIS BED IS SO BOUNCY!"  
Well, I was done admiring the room anyhow.  
"You should know that you're not supposed to be on any piece of furniture around here with your shoes on, mister!" I mock-warned, grabbing his hands and forcing him back down.  
"Shall we begin?" Lee asked, rubbing the palms of his hands together, up and down, up and down.  
"Lee, you're making it sound like we're gonna do something really important and serious. We're just gonna unpack a few things," I said.  
"A few? We should unpack everything," he said in a somewhat stern voice. Shucks, if this fellow met my mom I just know they'd hit it off!  
"Did you see all these boxes? If we unpacked everything at the same time, it'd take all week!" Naruto and I yelled in unison.  
With a soft clearing of his throat, Gaara opened up one of the cardboard boxes, which I'd forgotten to mark what I'd put in it. Ah, well…  
"What the? Would ya look at all these gaming magazines!" Naruto shouted excitedly.  
"Not bad, huh?" I giggled, again proving girls could be gamers too.  
"Are you sure these are yours?" Lee asked me, pointing at another now-opened box… The box that contained all my stuffed toys! Oh, man!  
"Um… maybe…?" Sheesh, why did I find it so hard to lie? Why didn't I just say I had a little sister and those toys were hers? Better question is, why didn't I have a sister?  
My train of thoughts were interrupted with Naruto's explosive laughter. "Jeez, you must have a hundred stuffed toys in that box!" he said between his fits of chortling and guffawing.  
"What? So I have a bit of a weakness! So what?" I groused, shoving the box aside. With that, I began muttering some choice words under my breath and in Maltese (just in case).

v-v

It was about five in the evening, and we were all lying exhausted in the sitting-room.  
'And we're not even halfway done,' I thought with a grumble. I never realized settling into a new place could be so tiring.  
"Hey, at least the TV's up and running!" Naruto cheered, having been a little peeved when I told him I had no stereo system so we couldn't at least put on some music while we worked.  
Said blonde was lying on his stomach facing the telly, and he pushed the button to turn it on. Almost as soon as the picture appeared, much to both his and my delight, we heard:

_Are ya ready, kids?  
Aye, aye, captain!  
I can't hear you!  
AYE, AYE, CAPTAIN!  
Ooh!_

Both of us clasped each other's hands and began to bounce around the room, singing along (really badly, I should add) to the theme song of everyone's favorite junk-food-cooking sponge. When we were done, we saw that Gaara and Lee were looking at us like we'd lost our minds.  
"What? We've done all that hard work! We have a right to act like kids again!" Naruto said in our defense.  
"Yeah!" I added.  
With that cleared up, we went back to our original positions; Naruto propped on two fluffy cushions under his tummy, and me lying on the couch with my head resting on Gaara's lap.  
'Sweet! This beats sleeping on a pillow any day!' I thought giddily. Luckily for me, we were all too relaxed at the time, and not even Naruto could bring out any teasing words out of his mouth.  
"Ooh, ooh! I love this episode!" I squealed as the title card to the episode _Krusty Love_ appeared on the screen.  
"Me too! Me too!" Naruto agreed, trying to crawl as close to the TV as was humanly possible.  
"How 'bout you, Lee?" I asked in curiosity.  
Getting no answer and feeling far too lazy to move even an inch from my heavenly position to see where he was, I tried asking him again.  
"Lee?"  
"Come on, Thick Brows! You're missing a really funny episode!"  
"Thick Brows?" I repeated, somewhat appalled at this nickname.  
"My own creation!" he smirked, looking a little too proud of himself.  
"Er, good for you."  
"Bah! I bet you everything I own he went back to unpack the rest of your stuff!" said Naruto, and I couldn't help but agree, whether he meant it or not.  
"Not in my house, he's not," I protested, but still couldn't bring myself to raise my head from where it was laying.  
"Leave him to it… Aw, we just missed the part where Mr. Krabs was talkin' gibberish to Mrs. Puff!" he shouted like his world had just ended.  
"I'm sure the kettle's unpacked. I'll go and make us some hot chocolate," I said, using chocolate as my incentive to finally sit up… Ouchies, that kink in my neck and shoulders! I cursed myself for the thousandth time today for having spent the night sleeping on a table as I made my way to the kitchen.  
While the water heated up I went off to my room, and sure enough, there was Lee stacking all my books in the shelves behind my bed, in alphabetical order no less.  
"Say, Lee, you wanna learn 2 new fun things 'bout me?"  
"Certainly," Th… I mean Lee answered cheerfully.  
"Okay then; fun thing number 1 - I wanted to put my action-figures on those shelves."  
"And what's the second?"  
"DON'T EVER TOUCH MY STUFF WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.  
No sooner had the (extremely loud) words come out of my mouth, then both Naruto and Gaara had raced into my room, fearing something bad must have happened.  
"What's with the screaming? Who's dying?" Naruto demanded in a panicky voice.  
"Oh, that was yours truly. I was teaching Lee fun facts about me and the dangers of touching my things without asking," I said in an oddly cheerful voice. Usually when I caught people anywhere within even a tiny inch near my stuff, I'd throw a massive fit like I did just then, but I'd stay mad for ages.  
With a roll of the eyes Naruto muttered, "Girls are so weird!"  
"What d'ya just say?" I shouted back, ready to teach him another most fun (and painful) lesson about me.  
"Nothing, nothing! I said nothing!" Naruto said weakly, trying to move my hands away from the collar of his orange sweatshirt. "Guys, a little help!"  
While my hands were gently pried out of reach from Naruto and his throat, said idiot was marched back to the sitting-room by Lee, being scolded all the way there.  
"Would you like some advice concerning Naruto?" Gaara asked me.  
"Ya mean good and effective ways I can kick his butt? I'm all ears!" I said giving my knuckles a good crack (owie! Bad idea!).  
"I was going to say you shouldn't take everything he says so seriously," he said with the tiniest of chuckles.  
"It's just crazy enough to work!" (I always wanted to say that)  
"You should know that kettle's been boiling for 5 minutes!" Naruto shouted from the other side.  
Whoops, I thought I forgot something.

v-v

"I simply don't understand how a sponge can talk AND cook," Lee said in wonderment.  
"Dude! It's a cartoon!" Naruto pointed out like he couldn't believe his ears.  
Just as I was about to let out a witty remark of my own, I heard a tiny, very soft snore coming from above me (yep, I was back to resting my head on my redheaded pal's lap).  
"Huh? Gaara? You sleeping?" I said sitting up.  
I certainly was hearing correctly. Somehow, without my even realizing he'd moved, he'd managed to lean down to the side with me still resting cluelessly on top of him. He had both hands on the armrest and was using them as a pillow to rest his cheek.  
Lee opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted at the speed of light when Naruto started laughing like a complete lunatic.  
"AHA HA! He's just beggin' to have his picture taken! I'll do just that and put it on the internet!"  
Completely forgetting Gaara's advice about not taking Naruto so seriously, I snapped, "You do that and your camera will find a new home under my boots!"  
"Jeez! Chill, I was just kidding!" Naruto said defensively.  
"Yes, Naruto doesn't even know how to use a camera," Lee added helpfully; Naruto aimed the most annoyed glare I'd ever seen in the black-haired boy's direction.  
"Whatever! There's a game called Sons of Liberty with my name on it! Let's go!"  
"Ah, but you know Gaara is not going to be waking up for a while now that he's finally asleep," said Lee.  
"Wait. Are you saying he was up all night?" I asked.  
Both Naruto and Lee nodded. Shucks, I wish I knew just what a pain in the neck insomnia could truly be. No wonder he didn't protest even a little bit at my sleeping position.  
"Welp, you guys go and get that game. We'll drop by as soon as he wakes up," I said.  
True, I was beyond eager to see the new _Metal Gear Solid_ (not to mention Snake) in action, but there was no way no how I was going to leave Gaara all alone.  
"Cool! Try and convince your folks to let you stay the night again!" Naruto offered.  
"Right…" I said, crossing my fingers behind my back almost painfully.

v-v

The time was 6 o' clock now, and I was bored out of my mind. I was sitting next to my snoozing friend, one hand pushing the channel button on the remote whilst running my fingers in his oh-so soft hair with the other.  
"Hm, Barney and Friends - bye bye! The Jetsons - I don't think so, call back another thousand years from now! Pokémon - away with you! The Flintstones - YABBA DABBA DOO!"  
Finally settling on something, I raised my cup to my mouth and took a sip of tea.  
"Yep, this is living," I said to myself happily.  
Somewhere along the way I had found Gaara's bag by the couch and found that uber-soft blanket, so I had gotten it out and covered the both of us in its comforting warmth.  
"Wha…?"  
"Hiya, sleepy!" I greeted. "Ya hungry? Thirsty? Let me get you some tea, this blend here is real tasty!"  
"When did I fall asleep?" he asked looking gosh-darned adorably confused.  
"I dunno, about an hour ago. Let me get you that tea."  
Refusing to take no for an answer, I poured him a cup from the teapot I had placed on the coffee table earlier.  
As I handed it to him I asked, "Wanna call your parents and let 'em know you're here? I bet they're worried sick, ya know?"  
"They already know I'm spending the weekend at Naruto's," he said somewhat hastily. What in the world is his story with that old coot of a father of his? Gaara wouldn't tell me anything about him, but I just knew he was really, really mean and I firmly decided that I wasn't going to like him no matter what.  
"For real? Then I'll actually reconsider his offer about staying over tonight, as long as I don't room with him that is."  
He said nothing and took a pretty big gulp of the tea.  
Leaving him to it, I went to my sassy new room to pack a few things. No way was I going to wear that repulsive thing Naruto lent me last night.  
10 minutes later found me in a bit of a dilemma. I'd packed my comfiest pair of pajamas, a change of clothes, my toothbrush and my cellphone, no problem-o. But I simply couldn't decide which stuffed doll I wanted to bring (it's a little thing I do!).  
"Are you ready?" Gaara asked from behind.  
"Almost. Which do you think I should bring, the Aeris doll or the Vivi one?"  
"Is it that important?"  
"You bet! Which one, which one, which one?"  
"Couldn't you just bring both?" he finally suggested, after I'd said 'which one' over twenty times.  
"You, Gaara, are a genius!" I said, stuffing the two dolls between the pajamas and clothes.  
After I'd written a really quick note to my parents to let them know where I was going to be (best not to phone them at work, knowing just how cranky they could be at hectic times like this), we went on our merry way.

v-v

"I wanna see your house tomorrow," I said suddenly after we'd walked in silence for like 15 minutes.  
"What?"  
"Well, you saw my place. It's only fair that I get to see yours," I said, finding that logic to be pretty reasonable.  
"I don't think so," he said in a stiff voice.  
"Come on, please?"  
"No."  
"Pretty please?"  
"No."  
"Super pretty please with strawberries and whipped cream!"  
"The answer is still no," the redhead said firmly.  
"Then I will keep pestering you until you change that 'no' into a 'yes'."  
"Go ahead."  
"Fine, but you brought this on yourself!" I challenged. Clearing my throat and taking a deep breath I began, "A million bottles of beer on the wall, a million bottles of beer! You take one down, pass it around, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall!"

v-v

"All right, all right! Stop singing!" Gaara screamed, finally giving in. Which was good, as I'd lost count to what number I'd gotten to, and he just might have throttled me if I started the whole thing over.  
"Nyuk, I guess you're not calm, cool and collected ALL the time after all," I grinned cheekily.  
"You'll pay for that."  
"Ooh, scared o' you!"  
At that precise moment, I felt something kinda fluffy and extremely cold touch the tip of my nose.  
"What the…?" I wondered out loud.  
"What is it?"  
"Something weird just fell on… There it goes again!"  
Looking up at the darkened sky covered in thick clouds, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I was surely dreaming.  
"Quick, pinch me!" I said with a squeal.  
"Pardon?"  
"If my imagination hasn't gone wild again, I'm being showered in snow!"  
"So?"  
How could he be so calm about this? It's snow! Soft, white, fluffy snow! Bending down, I placed a finger on the pavement, which was already getting covered nicely in the stuff.  
"You're behaving as though you've never seen snow," said Gaara, still sounding most annoyed with me about singing that (admittedly annoying) beer song.  
"Well, buddy, I don't think seeing fake snow on TV really counts," I said, forming a diseased-looking snowball with my clumsy fingers.  
"Doesn't it…?" he began, but was interrupted with my misshapen snowball hitting him on the forehead.  
"Huzzah! Score 1 for the Gozitan girl!"  
"Hmph! Naruto is already being a bad influence on you," he frowned, wiping the frozen water from his face.  
"I don't need Naruto's wise teachings to start a snowball fight," I said with a playful shove.  
"Let's just keep going."  
"Okee dokee then!" I obeyed, wrapping both my arms around one of his. Phew, snow is a lot colder than I imagined it to be. Definitely the last time I'm touching it without wearing gloves.

v-v

"There you guys are! What took ya?" Naruto exclaimed, quickly pulling us inside.  
"She had a bit of a doll-crisis," Gaara said oh-so calmly. Har di har har! So that was how you were gonna make me pay, huh?  
"Oh yeah? Well, you're… you're… You're real dumb!"  
"Wow, you're tough!" Naruto teased. What is this? Gang-up-on-the-European-kid-day?  
"You know somethin'? Sometimes boys are insensitive twats," I said while pointing at the two meanies.  
"You did bring some games with you, right?" Naruto asked, ignoring my last remark completely.  
"Well, I left my copy of Parasite Eve in my bag, so yeah. But what about Sons of Liberty? How cool is it? What neat features does it have? Does Snake still sound husky and sexy?"  
"Say what?"  
"Come on, does he?"  
"How the heck am I supposed to know THAT? I'm no chick!"  
"Fair enough, but you can still answer my first two questions," I practically pleaded.  
"Actually, I can't," he said.  
"Why not?"  
"'Cuz a certain thick-browed someone has hidden my PS2 until I finish my homework!" Naruto said extra-loudly.  
"Ouch, rough. Have you finished it now?"  
"Nope. Let's play that game you got!"  
"Is it just me or does Naruto have the attention-span of a pencil-sharpener?" I whispered to Gaara.  
"No, it's not just you."  
"Good, just checking."  
"You're not playing anything until you've finished your work! Do you want another detention?" suddenly came Lee's smart voice.  
"That one wasn't my fault! The old coot provoked me!"  
"No one made you draw that rude picture of him and label it 'Big Fat Meanie' for all to see," Gaara joined in.  
(Big Fat Meanie? Had he been watching a little too much _SpongeBob_?)  
"He provoked me way before I wrote that! See, that's why I called him a big fat meanie!"  
"Guys, guys!" I shouted in an attempt to get their attention.  
"You're on my side, right?" Naruto asked, giving me a friendly punch on the shoulder.  
"How should I know? I wasn't there," I pointed out.  
"Oh, yeah. Still, you're on my side just the same!"  
"Whatever floats your boat."  
"Awesome! Now let's have a look at that Parasite Evening."  
"That's Eve, not Evening," I said, handing him the box and warning him to be careful whilst handling the discs.

v-v

"You said nothing about it being a horror game!" Naruto complained. He was as white as a sheet of paper after the first scary scene in the Carnegie Hall had played out.  
"So it's a horror game. So what?"  
"Naruto isn't really all that good with anything scary," Lee said.  
"But you like Resident Evil, and that's way scarier," I said, unable to believe that hotheaded Naruto, who claimed he wasn't scared of anything, was terrified of horror games and such.  
"I never said that," he argued.  
"Sure you did. You even said Nemmy is cool."  
"I did say he's a cool villain. I said nothing about liking the actual games," he grumbled.  
Hm, now that I think about it I don't recall seeing a single horror title in his gaming collection when he'd shown it to me.  
Fishing around in my bag, I saw that I'd left another game at the very bottom. Getting it out, I saw that there was no way he'd play it, still…  
"Um, well, I found another game," I tried, showing him my extremely worn copy of _Final Fantasy VII_.  
"Anything's better than that scary game. Might as well find out what the hype is about this thing, anyway."  
Wow, he must really have found _Parasite Eve_ scary if he was willing to try out a game he'd sworn not to play, ever.  
While Naruto busied himself with my game, I turned to the other two and asked, "Did he really call one of your teachers a big fat meanie?"  
"He has pulled worse stunts than that, unfortunately," Lee answered.  
My eyes practically lit up with interest. I wasn't the kind of student that would start some kind of trouble in class or anything like that, but I always enjoyed hearing about a good escapade or two that someone else had pulled off.  
"Do tell!" I begged, hands clasped together under my chin.  
"Well, there was this one occasion where he set up a stink-bomb during Math class," was Lee's scolding answer.  
"A stink-bomb in Math class? That's pure genius! Why didn't I think of that!" I squealed. I hated Math with every ounce of my being and it certainly didn't help matters that I was absolutely and embarrassingly awful at it.  
"Would you rather get 2 months' worth of detention in order to miss 1 Math lesson, though?" Gaara put in.  
"Ouch! How did he get caught? You didn't tell on him, did you guys?" I demanded.  
My answer came in the form of the two of them looking at me like they wanted to smack me a new one but had enough willpower to hold themselves back.  
"Yikes! I'll take that as a no!" I squealed taking a couple of steps back.  
"But someone did give him away, you're right about that."  
"Yes, and I would advice you to stay as far away from her as you can," said Lee clasping both of my shoulders.  
"Er, alrighty then! I'll do just that!"  
"HEY! THIS GAME IS SO COOL!" suddenly came Naruto's loud and excitable voice.  
I left the others and rushed to join him, wanting to see which part he'd gotten to. Ah, he's fighting Guard Scorpion already? He's doing pretty well for a guy who never touched an RPG before.  
"But how come Mr. T is in this game?" Naruto asked. Somehow, I saw that question coming, but I can't say I blame him. The resemblance between Barret and Mr. T himself is truly uncanny.  
"That's not Mr. T, but he sure is a lot like him, huh?"  
Before Naruto could say anything back, we were horrified to see the screen go completely black.  
"No! I was winning!" the blonde screamed in agony.  
"What gives?" I said groaning at the sheer misfortune of what just happened.  
After a few seconds we could see just why the machine had shut off without warning. Lee had taken out the plug from its socket and was now dangling it from side to side in his right hand.  
"Why you double-crossing jerk! Wait until I get my hands on you!" Naruto screamed, chasing Lee around the room ready to pound him into next week.  
"You were supposed to be doing your homework!"  
"I'll shove my homework right down your throat!"  
"Whoo-hoo! Isn't this fun?" I beamed at Gaara. When I stopped to really watch them run around in circles, I saw that it was downright hilarious.  
"Yes, very amusing," he said, sarcasm heavily lacing his voice.  
"Aw come on, lighten up!" I chuckled, wanting to give him a noogie but couldn't, considering he was twice my size and all.  
He didn't answer and made his way to (what I assumed to be) Lee's room. Naruto had now successfully tackled Lee to the floor; laying with his knees on top of the suicidal one's back, my fellow-gamer was pulling as hard as he could on both his arms. Welp, the funny part's over and done with, and I never did see what Lee's room is like…  
Sidestepping the two roughhousers, I followed after Gaara (he sure is making me act weird and just so unlike me…). I admit I was half-expecting to find him back at his work that I'd interrupted the other day, so imagine my surprise when I see him sitting on the main bed with music pounding out of the earphones he now had on.  
Closing the door so I wouldn't hear the rather bad words Naruto was screaming at the top of his lungs, I made to join him. Hmph! He didn't even notice me!  
I gave him a light tap on the shoulder and he finally opened his eyes and saw me staring at him. Ah, at least he had the good manners to take the earphones off seeing he wasn't alone anymore.  
"I thought you of all people would know the hazards of playing music that loud outta those things," I pointed out.  
"I had to drown Naruto out somehow," he said defensively.  
"Right, good cover. So what were ya listening to? Do share!" I said, bringing out my love for music in my excited tone of voice.  
No response…  
"I promise I won't tease," I said, my curiosity becoming obvious now.  
Without saying a word he placed one of the soft buds in my left ear, and I was greeted with a really cool and pulsing beat along with a most gorgeous female voice.  
"Awesome! That's Nightwish!" I cheered.  
"You like them?"  
"Of course! Who doesn't?"  
"I'm sure there are those that don't," he said matter-of-factly.  
"And those that don't are livin' under a rock if you ask me," I replied.  
To my delight, he gave me that little smile that he had when we talked last night. But all that was short-lived as we heard a loud thump against the door.  
"Golly, Naruto sure is angry," I said, now sounding worried.  
"This happens all the time," was Gaara's disapproving answer.  
Just as I opened my mouth to say something in return, my stomach chose that insanely inopportune time to let out an animal-like growl. My face couldn't have become more flushed, but it did just that when my friend laughed softly.  
"Ah! Be quiet!" I grumbled, grabbing the nearby pillow and smacking him lightly with it on the chest.  
"Let's go," he said like nothing happened.  
"Where? I'm not going anywhere near those two!" I moaned wincing at the sounds of the clobbering that was going on behind the closed door.  
"We're going to get something to eat," he simply answered, his bag already slung over his back.  
My eyes went as wide as saucers. He wasn't…? Nah! But was it…? Of course not! Then again, it was going to be just us two… Oh, please!  
'Please, Lord! Tell me this is a date!'  
Out loud I said, "W-what a te…terrific idea! L-let's go… indeed!" (great, now I'm talking like Porky Pig! Oh, what next?)

v-v

Looking at my wristwatch for the zillionth time that evening, I saw that it was still 7:30. Last time I checked it, it was 7:29. Tucking the watch back under the sleeve of my jacket I resumed with fiddling my fingers on the table.  
'Where's that waitress with my orange soda?' That ought to cool my nerves, surely.  
"Why are you acting so nervous all of a sudden?" Gaara asked, actually looking a touch worried.  
"Who me? Nervous? I don't even know what nervous means!" I said, fiddling my fingers even harder.  
"Here we go! 1 orange soda for the young lady and tea for the handsome fellar with her!" came our waitress' cheerful voice. "I sure hope the two of you are having a good time here at our Starry Night Coffeehouse!"  
'Hmph! You don't even wanna know, lady!' I couldn't help but feel extremely annoyed at the flirty way she was looking at Gaara, and I wanted her to leave right away.  
"I changed my mind!" I piped up with the soda glass in hand, "I want a chocolate-cappuccino instead!"  
"The customer's always right!" the lady said with a smile, and finally she was gone along with my beloved orange soda.  
"What was that about?"  
"Nothing. She was just really ticking me off," I answered, my nervousness completely gone now.  
"Dawn's always like that. She's actually pretty nice," he said with a chuckle.  
"If you say so," I said shortly but not really believing him. Why should I like that overly-happy waitress girl, with her dirty-blonde hair and black highlights (obviously fake!), her light blue eyes and upbeat personality? Heck no! I wasn't going to like her a tiny little bit!  
"There we are! 1 chocolate-cappuccino! If there's anything else, don't hesitate to let me know!"  
"Right. Thanks, Shawn," I answered sweetly, saying the wrong name on purpose.  
"Dawn."  
"Okay, Joan."  
"Here are your menus!" she said, not feeling the least bit down at my rude behavior whilst she handed us the thin menus.  
When she was gone, Gaara felt the need to check again by asking, "Are you certain you're not nervous?"  
"100% tip-top!" I answered.  
Opening my menu I saw that the place offered all sorts of cozy dishes you'd expect to find in your grandmother's house, complete with the most mouth-watering pastries imaginable.  
"Sweet! Ravjul for me!"  
"What?"  
"Whoops, I keep forgetting! I meant the ravioli."  
"Have we decided on anything?" came that irritatingly cheerful voice yet again.  
'How about some duct tape over your mouth?'  
"I'll have the ravioli, extra cheese," I said trying my hardest to keep my voice on a polite level.  
"Excellent choice! And your devilishly handsome friend?"  
Oh, what I'd give to strap her to a rocket and send her to the moon!

v-v

Aside from Dawn's constant interruptions, dinner was actually pretty enjoyable (except it was hardly as delicious as the ravjul my grandma makes from scratch).  
"Hoo! I couldn't eat another bite!" I said with a little moan of pleasure.  
"You mean you don't want dessert?"  
Why is it that men can be so clueless at times?  
"Of course I want dessert, you silly! What's a meal without one?" The chocolate-cheesecake on the cover of the menu had my name printed all over it.  
Suddenly, I heard my cellphone ringing loudly from the front pocket of my jacket. Now what? Fishing it out, I saw Naruto's name flashing on the screen.  
"Uh oh, it's Naruto," I said, not wanting to be the next one to face his wrath.  
With a look that told me I should just answer it and get it over with, I flipped the phone open and hesitantly pressed it to my ear.  
"Er… hello?"  
"WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU TWO?" Naruto bellowed from the other end, effectively making both my ears throb painfully.  
"Uh… having di… I mean, coffee! Yes, that's it! Coffee!"  
"YA EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT?'  
"What…? (fizz) I can't (fizz) hear (fizz)…! Losing (fizz)…!" With that, I quickly turned off the phone, closed it and shoved it back in my pocket as far as it would go.  
"You do realize you've only made things worse," Gaara said with his arms crossed over his chest.  
"Well, this was your idea! I'll just tell him that this was all your fault and he won't have to beat me up like he did Lee!"  
"Very commendable of you."  
"Don't I know it?"

v-v

"All right, who wants to go first?" came Naruto's furious greeting at the door.  
"Uh, we brought you some chocolate éclairs and cannoli," I tried, holding the pink cardboard box in front of him like an offering.  
"You're bribing me with pastries?"  
"Apologizing with pastries," I offered.  
"Then… LET'S EAT!"  
"Say what?" I managed to utter after my jaw had dropped to the floor.  
"Nothing says I'm sorry better than chocolate-covered food!" the blonde said throwing his arms around each of our shoulders.  
"Attention span of a pencil-sharpener," I repeated in a whisper to Gaara.

v-v

Even though Naruto had pounded the living daylights out of Lee, there were no hard feelings between either of them. So it was decided that since Naruto snores (he still refuses to admit to it) and Lee is an extremely heavy sleeper that they'd room together in the blue-eyed one's room, leaving me with…  
What were the chances!  
Having just stepped out of the shower and now in my cozy blue jammies, I practically begged Gaara to let me use the blanket just once more. He was more than happy to give it to me. With that, I had one last request before I hit the sack.  
"You want me to braid your hair?"  
"So it won't get all messy come morning."  
"Why don't you do it yourself?"  
"Uh, because you're so nice and sweet and always willing to lend a hand?" I attempted. Heh, good thing it's all true.  
Without another word being exchanged, he was sitting behind me and running his fingers through my hair to get all the tangles and knots out.  
Ignoring that spark I felt from before, I failed to do the same when he came across a pretty big knot. "Ouch! Careful!"  
"Sorry."  
All tangles successfully smoothed out, he now proceeded in parting the wet strands into three separate locks and before I knew it, my blue hair-tie was tied round the tip of a perfect (in my opinion) braid.  
"Nice! Thanks!" I said gratefully, flinging the braid across one shoulder, then the other.  
Leaving the room so that I could brush my teeth I saw Naruto was back to playing _Final Fantasy VII_ (he sure had a change of heart!) and Lee doing his usual exercises. I guess his earlier pounding did nothing to dampen his spirits.  
Since both were too engrossed with what they were doing they didn't even see me, so I kept on going to the bathroom. With my teeth brushed, I reached for the mouthwash, poured some in a disposable cup and began the annoying process of gargling it. Just as I was bending down to spit it out, I felt someone pat my back pretty hard.  
"I beat the first dungeon!"  
With spots dancing in front of my eyes I began to jump as I choked on the minty liquid. I pounded hard on my chest and after a couple more sputtering coughs, the disgusting liquid went down my throat.  
"What is the matter with you! You made me choke on the mouthwash! Now I swallowed it!"  
"Uh… sorry?"  
"You'll be really sorry when I get through with you!" I screeched, grabbing the nearest hard object I could find (the scale) and chasing him around with it held above my head.  
15 minutes and 2 lumps on Naruto's head later found me on the spare bed in Lee's room. Sitting cross-legged on the rather plushy mattress, I got out the Aeris and Vivi dolls and placed them on the pillow. Hm, maybe I should have brought some action-figures? Oh well…  
Wrapping myself up in the blanket I saw that Gaara had already fallen asleep. Boy, I sure hope his insomnia won't act up again.

v-v

Mm… What's with the shaking…?  
"Claire?"  
Mmm… I wanna sleep some more, Mom… Can't school wait…?  
"Claire, are you awake?"  
Nooooo… Go away…  
'Wait, since when does my mom have a guy's voice?'  
Struggling to open my eyes I tried to rub the sleep from out of them. Just barely making out the digits on the radio-clock next to Gaara's bed I saw that it was still midnight.  
Stretching my arms above my head, I looked to the side and as I suspected, there was my redheaded friend with one hand still on my shoulder.  
"Can't sleep again?"  
He shook his head looking rather apologetic for waking me up. Ah, but what are friends for?  
"Good thing there's still some cannoli left. Let's go," I said stifling a yawn behind one hand while clasping my Aeris doll with the other.  
Within minutes we were on the couch with the blanket wrapped around us both, each of us holding a mug of hot chocolate and quietly watching TV (how lucky were we to catch the Christmas episode of Mr. Bean at this hour?).  
"Aren't you angry?"  
"You asked me that over a hundred times already. Each time I've told you I'm not. What more do you want from me?" I answered whilst trying to hide my explosive snorts at the part where Mr. Bean was playing with the Nativity Scene. At the same time, Gaara let out a few appreciative chuckles of his own. (is it even possible for someone to NOT laugh at Mr. Bean's antics?)  
'I could get used to nights like this.'

v-v

"Who's tickling me had better cut it out," I mumbled in a sleepy voice.  
"Aw, but don't you wanna see this picture of you? It came out so 'cute'!" I heard Naruto's teasing voice say.  
Picture?  
"What are you talking about?" I managed to get out but refusing to open my eyes. I was still so sleepy.  
"After a lot of fiddling with the camera I was able to get proof that there IS something going on with you and Gaara!"  
That got my attention! Snapping my eyes wide open I saw the position the two of us were in. I had my cheek pressed to one of his shoulders while his head was resting on top of mine. Like this, it's not a wonder Naruto would get ridiculous ideas into his fuzz-filled head!  
"Stop fooling around and help me get him off!"  
Still chortling to himself, he did just that. Afterwards, he began waving a photograph in front of my face that showed just how we were sleeping mere minutes ago.  
"I swear it's not what you think! We fell asleep watching TV!"  
"Sure, sure!" he said with a wink.  
"We've been through this already!"  
"Come on, I wasn't born yesterday!"  
"I'm really beginning to doubt that!" I retorted, trying to get the picture from Naruto's hands but failing miserably. After several attempts, I gave up and went to the kitchen to have breakfast.  
Let him imagine what he wants, I'll just keep denying everything.

End Chapter 3

Wowee, this chapter came out much longer than I myself was expecting it to be! I really enjoyed writing that scene at the coffeehouse. And I couldn't help mentioning my Nanna's (that's Maltese for Grandmother) ravioli - ravjul is indeed the Maltese word for ravioli, they're just so delicious.  
I dunno why, but I somehow see Gaara as liking certain groups like Nightwish (I love 'em myself). A true shame Ms. Tarja is no longer with them, though. Just so you all know, my favorite group in the whole world is The Black Mages (I was so upset when I read they broke up. WAH!).  
Oh yeah, the thing with the plushies. I truly do have a massive weakness for them (though it's not as bad as it was a few years back). I also always take at least one with me whenever I travel, especially if I have to be on a plane. It cost me an arm and a leg to get the Aeris doll and she's one of my most prized possessions.  
Tee hee, I absolutely couldn't help adding the "husky and sexy" bit about Snake. I shall admit this here and now, I'm a bit of a Solid Snake fangirl (have been since I was 12) and in my opinion his voice-actor, David Hayter, has THE sexiest voice on the planet. (right now, Liam O'Brien definitely ranks a close second as far as sexy voices go! If only he and Mr. Hayter would work together I'd be in paradise!)  
On the next installment we should see more familiar faces (some unwelcome ones as well). Oh yes, the girl I had Lee mention that got Naruto in trouble is not, I repeat, NOT Sakura! So all you Sakura-haters better get that idea outta your heads. The girl I have in place for this role of evilness is one of the creepiest and meanest gals, called Meno. She's not in the anime but unique to the game Konoha Spirits. She, I find, is perfect to play the role of evil gal that brings lotsa trouble wherever she goes - I absolutely enjoyed the scene between her and Gaara in the game. It was so cool!  
Now, please drop me a wee review! That one I got made me insanely happy. Another one would make me feel like that again but ten times more.


	5. Meeting His Family and Other Surprises

This was meant to be a quick update (I started working on this around November, phew!), but I got stuck on it for ages, hence why it is being uploaded 3-4 months late. Still, I hope this installment meets with everyone's approval… _looks apologetic_

My Thank You Corner the Sequel…  
DidiTwitches – thank you so much for reviewing my last chapter! It was super-nice and it made me super-happy! **hands you cyber cheesecake**

Title: Not All as It Seems  
Warnings: Comedy aplenty, fluffy goodness and eventually some lovely romance (hooray for us)  
Pairings: Gaara/Young, Shikamaru/Temari, Naruto/Sakura/Lee and gonna attempt Naruto/Hinata; suggestions and requests are more than welcome! I'm open for most ideas, so give me a try

Disclaimer: Meh, you copyright people just won't rest until this is said, will you? I do not own Naruto and I'll never be rich enough for this to happen anytime soon, so go away and leave me be! I'm just a humble fan who enjoys writing for its fandom without making a single dime (or Euro cent) in the process, capisch!? Good!

Claimer: The character Granny Nadia, appearing in this chapter (and hopefully more to come), is mine. For my fellow _Golden Girls_ fans, you'll indeed notice she's a lot like Sophia Petrillo, and that's because Nadia was inspired from Sophia's awesome character.

For those that are still reading and thought the previous chappie was long, you might need some espresso for this one, as this ended up being even longer… I'm on a roll!

Chapter 4  
Meeting His Family and Other Surprises

8th December, 2002 (Sunday)

"Ooh, ooh, can I be the best man at your wedding?"  
Argh, how tempted I was to dump my entire bowl of Trix down Naruto's pants. If I had just one penny to how many times he kept nagging and pestering, not to mention teasing me about what really happened between Gaara and myself in the two nights we've known each other, I'd be (quite possibly) richer than Bill Gates himself!  
"Where are ya gonna go for the honeymoon? Hey, when ya have kids, can you name the son after me?"  
'Honeymoon!? Kids!? Grossness!'  
"Naruto, I swear if you don't change the subject right now, I'll give you some more lumps to add to the collection I gave you last night!" I threatened while waving my spoon at him.  
"Just admit it and I won't mention this again," the blonde said like it was the most obvious thing ever.  
"For crying out loud, there is NOTHING to admit! Like I told you a gazillion times already, we fell asleep watching TV!"  
"Oh, yeah? Then how do you explain that date?!" Naruto asked triumphantly.  
"That wasn't a date! Maybe you and Lee could've come if you weren't so busy rumbling like a couple of pro-wrestlers!" I bellowed, yet I could feel my face flushing like crazy. I myself was still debating whether it had been a date or not… But, please! We barely knew each other! How could it possibly have been a date? Right! Not a chance!  
'Still, woulda been nice if it was…'  
"Jeez, your face is redder than a bottle of ketchup! That totally shows something or other is going on!"  
"Redder than a bottle of ketchup? What kinda tonto comparison is that?!"  
So busy were we arguing like an old married couple, we didn't hear the sound of someone else sitting down and pouring some cereal into a bowl. Looking up, I realized my troubles could finally be over.  
"At last! Gaara, please, please, PLEASE tell this idiot once and for all that there's nothing going on, because I am this close to strangling him!"  
"You cannot argue with photographic proof!" Naruto challenged.  
"If the 'photographic proof' is coming from a nitwit then we can so too argue with it!" I challenged right back.  
"What in the world are you two talking about?" Gaara asked in such an irritatingly calm voice that suddenly I wanted to change whom the lucky recipient of the contents of my cereal bowl ought to be. This was all his fault to begin with!  
"Never mind that! Just tell him nothing's going on between us! If you don't, prepare yourselves for a really painful pillow-fight!"  
Naruto actually started laughing at me, clutching his sides and gasping for breath.  
"Fine! Be that way!"  
"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said you're not a morning-person!" Naruto said, still chortling softly.  
"Whatever," I groused and went back to my (now mushy) breakfast.  
The blonde jerk went to get something from the fridge just as I was sitting back down. There and then I decided to get back at him. No one makes a complete fool of Claire Piscopo and gets away with it, and he was gonna learn this the hard way!  
"Now what are you doing?" the redhead demanded.  
"Just hush!" I said, feeling my annoyance at him ebbing away. I wanted to stay mad at him but I simply could not.  
Edging Naruto's bowl of Cap'n Crunch (YUCK!) a little closer, I poured in some salt and pepper from the shakers that had been oh-so conveniently left on the table.  
"Isn't that a little childish?"  
"You're just taking his side," I shot back, placing the bowl back where it originally was.  
He rolled his eyes and said nothing more. Hmph, men! They're insensitive bums, the whole lot of them!  
"Here's some orange soda!" came Naruto's cheerful voice.  
"Eh?"  
"You did say orange soda calms your nerves, right? So, here ya go!" he said whilst handing me a glass of that sweet, orangey, bubbly goodness.  
"Uh, okay. Erm, you might not wanna eat any more of that cereal…"  
"You didn't spit in it, did you?!"  
"EW! Don't be nasty! I just dumped in some salt and pepper!"  
"Oh, alrighty then!"  
While Naruto was pouring himself a fresh bowl of cereal, I swung my foot and successfully connected it (a little too sharply, I admit) with Gaara's knee.  
Aiming a furious glare at me, I mimicked him then bobbed my head slightly in Naruto's direction.  
I could not believe it when the guy actually got up from his chair and went back to Lee's room, slamming it shut.  
"That does it! That brat is asking for a really serious butt-kicking! After he woke me up and everything, who the heck does he think he is!?"  
Without staying a minute further to hear what Naruto was trying to tell me, I marched to the closed door, heaving an extremely annoyed sigh upon finding it locked.  
'If you think this is over, you better think again!'  
"You open this door! You hear me, you jerk!? Open the door!" I screamed while pounding both my fists as hard as I could against the wooden surface.  
"Stop that! You will only hurt yourself!" Lee suddenly came from out of nowhere and tried to pull me back.  
"I'm not leaving this spot until that LOSER opens the door!"  
"He's probably just nervous," came Naruto's voice, sounding unusually calm.  
"What on Earth for?" I demanded, feeling my hands throbbing painfully.  
"He's gotta go home today. Can't blame him, I'd be on edge too if my old man was a creepy, unreasonable, downright mean jerk!"  
"Please! How bad can he possibly be?"  
"You wouldn't believe it unless you met him yourself," Naruto said matter-of-factly.  
"Hey, that reminds me! He did promise!"  
"Promise what?" asked Lee inspecting my knuckles - blast, I actually managed to crack the skin on my left hand! At least it wasn't really bleeding that badly.  
"He promised I'd get to see his place," I mumbled, not feeling so enthusiastic about it anymore.  
"WHAT?! How did you manage that?! I must've asked him a million times before he finally agreed!"  
"Did you try singing the 'Bottles of Beer on the Wall' song? I find it usually works like a charm," I said, chuckling at the memory.  
"Argh! So simple! No wonder I didn't think of it!" Naruto exclaimed with jealousy in his voice.  
"Yeah, no wonder," I put in.  
"Just give him a few minutes to calm himself, okay? In the meantime, let's get that hand of yours cleaned up," Lee said in a kind voice.  
"Fine, fine…"

v-v

After having eaten my breakfast and helped out with the dishes, the door to Lee's room finally opened. Hmph, about time!  
Ignoring Gaara completely, I went into the room to get changed. After doing so, I took off the blue hair-tie and shook my hair free of the braid. Good, just as I had hoped, my hair didn't get completely messy during the night. Packing up the pajamas and dolls, I went to join the guys in the sitting-room.  
"Where are my games?" I asked Naruto.  
"Here's Parasite Eve, but please let me borrow Final Fantasy VII!" Naruto pleaded as I packed up the former of the two.  
"Sorry, but that is one game I won't lend to anyone. You can borrow whatever else you want from me, though," I said trying to pry my favorite game out of Naruto's hands.  
"Come on, please! I'll lend you Sons of Liberty!" he coaxed.  
"I don't have a PlayStation 2," I said pulling harder.  
"I'll lend you my PS2, then!"  
"No, already!"  
"What will it take to change your mind?"  
At first I was going to say nothing whatsoever would change my mind, then I thought of a good exchange.  
"Fine, I'll let you borrow it for that picture you took."  
"DEAL!"  
Not letting go of the box, he slid the coveted photo from the pocket of his orange sweatshirt and handed it to me. Stuffing it as deep as I could inside my bag, I finally gave in and Naruto began dancing around in triumph with the game held above his head like a trophy. Meh, maybe he should refrain from eating such sugary cereals in the morning…  
Slinging my bag over my shoulders, I made my way to the kitchen.  
"Okay, I'm ready," I said with a tap to Gaara's shoulder.  
"Ready?"  
"What are you, a parrot?"  
"Ready for what?"  
"Don't play dumb, mister! A promise is a promise!"  
"Why is your hand bandaged?" he asked sounding concerned.  
"Don't change the subject," I snapped. Having a change of heart at the rather upset look on his face though, I added, "Just a little cut, but Lee was a complete worry-wart about it. The guy's like a mother hen!"  
"That is true."  
Curses, I was so determined to stay angry with him for as long as I could, but it ended up lasting for the grand total of half an hour. How does he do that?  
"Let's go, already! I'm dying to see your house!" I squealed, feeling my excitement return.  
Gee, I realize that Gaara's father sounds really unpleasant, but why did his eyes look so sad? A father isn't supposed to cause such a look…

v-v

Boy, I never really enjoyed walks in the cold and I was really regretting not bringing my woollen hat to cover my ears. And as beautiful as the snow was, it sure was no fun crunching your way through it to get to where you wanted. (it had snowed for a lot longer than I thought, and all the public transportations were down because of it)  
"I'm getting a pair of really soft gloves for Christmas, that's for sure!" I got out with a groan; I'd tucked my hands as deeply as I possibly could in my pockets, but denim is not really the best thing to protect a person from the sheer cold…  
"We're almost there," he said sounding really uncomfortable, though I highly doubted it was from the cold.  
After some more walking we both stopped in front of a mansion of a house. I was about to point out to Gaara that now was NOT the time to be admiring huge buildings, no matter how lovely they were, when he proceeded to the large iron gate and opened it.  
Before he could go any further I grabbed onto both of his shoulders. "What are you doing?! We're supposed to be going to your house!"  
"This IS my house," my red-haired companion said stiffly.  
I could not believe what I was hearing, but that may very well have been because my ears were in extreme pain from the cold and my head felt like it was going to split wide open.  
"I'd love to hear more about that, but let's go inside first before my ears fall off!"  
Within minutes we were inside the huge manor. I began to shake out the snow from my hair and clothes, when I suddenly heard an old voice squeal in what sounded a lot like joy.  
Before I knew it, there came a cute little old lady, with hair as white as cotton, a huge pair of glasses on her wrinkled face and a beaded purse hanging from her right arm. (whoa! A Sophia Petrillo look-alike if I ever saw one!)  
"There's my favorite grandson!" she said, squeezing Gaara's cheeks like there was no tomorrow.  
'Ooh, that's gotta hurt!' I thought with a wince. Having been a victim of cheek-pinching myself as a child, I certainly knew this sort of thing was far from fun.  
"I was just telling that yutz father of yours about how well you're doing in school," she went on.  
I began darting my head in every direction, thinking that in a minute three more old ladies would pop out - one smart and sarcastic, another dopey but lovable and the other being (in her opinion) unbelievably devastating. I was left extremely disappointed when no such thing happened.  
"And who's this? Why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend?"  
'What? This again?'  
"Uh, actually, I'm not. I'm just his friend, who happens to be a girl. But I'm in no way his girlfriend," I quickly said.  
"What?" she demanded, sounding outraged, "My boy not good enough for you?"  
"That's not it. But we've only known each other for a couple of days is all…" I managed to mumble while massaging my earlobes with my fingers. 'Agony!'  
"Oh, well just you wait! If anyone is an ideal boyfriend around here, that would be my Gaara!" the old lady said quite proudly.  
"Good for him. Listen, I could really use an aspirin. This migraine's killing me…"  
"What do I look like, a maid?"  
"Grandma!" came my friend's somewhat startled voice at the woman's rather rude response.  
"No, wait a minute…" She began fumbling in her purse, "Hm, I thought I had a couple left. Oh well, how would you like some hard candy?"  
"My head feels like there's a bunch of sugar-high kids playing Dance Dance Revolution inside it! The last thing I want is something hard to chew on!" I groaned.  
Feeling my arm being tugged, I played along and found myself walking through this maze-like hallway, eventually getting into a really fancy dining room. Helping myself to a chair (comfy!), I crossed my arms on the table and lay my head on top of them.  
"Here's a nice cup of tea! That should warm you right up!" said the old lady cheerfully, passing me a fancy cup and saucer.  
Not wanting to be rude, I raised my head as high as I could, brought the cup to my lips and took a tentative sip. My eyes went as wide as dinner plates. This was the best tea I'd ever had in my life, not even my great-aunt ever managed to make me tea this good, and I considered hers to be the best.  
"This is some blend," I said, taking another sip.  
"I should know, kiddo. That's my own special brew."  
I guess I can now add tea to the things Grandmas can do better than anyone else.  
"No, it isn't. You made that up," Gaara accused as he handed me the badly needed aspirins.  
Okay, maybe not.  
"Eh, so what? As long as I keep talking, I know my heart's still beating!"  
"You got that line straight out of the Golden Girls!" I chortled after having gulped down the tablets.  
"Who?" she asked looking baffled.  
"Uh, no one. So, where's everybody else anyhow?"  
"For starters, the yutz had an "important meeting" to attend to," Granny began, distaste covering her voice entirely.  
"My, how convenient!" I cheered, my headache starting to get better.  
"Isn't it?" agreed the Sophia look-alike. What in the world is her name, anyways?  
"What about Mother?" came Gaara's quiet question.  
"Ah, that girl loves her early Christmas shopping!" she answered, "I would've joined her myself, but I figured I might as well wait up for my favorite grandson instead."  
"Say, I never even asked! Do you have any other siblings, Gaara?" I asked in curiosity.  
He said nothing, so Granny answered for him, "I hardly see my Temari these days. She's almost always with that Shikamaru boy. Can't say I blame her, he's such a good-looking young man."  
Well, I never thought I'd see the day when I'd actually hear an old lady sound giddy, but there you go! Life in America is simply full of surprises.  
"Ah, so you have a brother and a SISTER! Why does everyone have a sister but me?"  
"Only child?" asked Granny.  
"I wish! I have two brothers. To add insult to injury, I'm the middle child," I said like it was the most evil thing that could ever happen to a person (close enough).  
"Oh, just like my Kankurou!" exclaimed the lady in a cheery voice.  
"So then, is Temari the baby of the family?" I asked.  
"Dearie, she's the eldest."  
"WHAT?! Gaara's the baby!? Well, if that doesn't beat all!" I got out in surprise, laughing just a little bit. He was the last person I would have called "the baby of the family". What will I find out next, that I'm older than him?  
Seeing that my red-haired friend was looking both annoyed and embarrassed, I quickly decided to change the subject. (how could he not enjoy being the youngest, though? I'd kill to still be the youngest myself)  
"So, uh, where's this Kankurou bloke?"  
"Who knows? That boy never tells me where he's going!"  
Just then, we all heard a female voice call, "I'm home, Grandma!"  
Next thing I knew, a really attractive blonde girl had come through the door with a hunk of a guy standing close by her. Without even bothering to introduce himself, the boy named Shi… er, Shim… Shi-something took one of the free chairs, sat down, and in a couple more seconds, he was sound asleep.  
"Is he for real?" I asked bemused and began poking him with my teaspoon.  
"And you are?" the blonde girl asked, looking exasperatedly at her slumbering boyfriend.  
"Claire's the name. I just moved here," I answered, still mercilessly poking 'Sleeping Beauty'.  
Before long, the teaspoon was pulled out of my hand. At first I thought it was Temari that had done that, but it turned out that it was Gaara, who then handed it over to his sister.  
"Aw, you're no fun!" I grumbled.  
"Why don't you go annoy your own boyfriend?" the girl scolded.  
"Uh, 'cuz I don't have one?"  
"And she thinks our Gaara isn't good enough for her, either!" Granny continued.  
"I never said that! I said I've only known him for two days!" I said defensively.  
"Yes, well, don't go getting any ideas into your head, missie!" Temari said, sounding quite protective.  
"I wasn't, I wasn't…" I said unable to face her while crossing my fingers between my knees.

v-v

Sometime later found me in my friend's enormous bedroom.  
'Gee, our old house would easily fit in this room!' I thought admiringly. On the other hand, the redhead was looking around the room with extreme loathing.  
With a pitiful whistle (I can't whistle properly to save a person's life) I dumped my bag onto his bed, then plopped down on the plushy mattress myself.  
"Woohoo, nice!" I said cheerfully, resisting the massive urge I got to do the same thing Naruto had done the other day, and jump and bounce on it like a trampoline.  
Just as I was about to ask where the stereo was (there is no way a room this huge doesn't have some kind of entertainment system hiding somewhere), I heard Gaara unexpectedly say, "I'm sorry."  
'Sorry? Oh, he's probably apologizing because Granny Nadia asked me if all Maltese girls were scrawny and spoke with amusing accents.' Earlier, I'd learned that the Sophia look-alike was named Nadia, though she insisted I call her 'Granny', as just about everybody else did the same.  
"Oh, don't apologize for Granny! She's hilarious!" I said with a slight bounce on the mattress. (WEE!)  
"I wasn't," he said pointedly.  
"Right then. I forgive you, whatever it is you're apologizing for," I offered. I tried to remember why I'd been angry with him earlier in the first place, but I couldn't for the life of me. If only I wasn't such a cranky time-bomb nearly every morning, but hey, no one's perfect.  
"How could you forget the fight we had this morning?" he demanded softly.  
"Oh, didn't I mention? I come from a long, long line of forgetful, absentminded people," I joked.  
My friend gave me a really blank look at that. Tsk, this guy really needs to lighten up!  
"Relax, I was just kidding! Well, sort of… I can be pretty forgetful and absentminded, as is the rest of my family. But, really… That wasn't a fight. You saw I'm no morning-person, and Naruto's teasing really put me in a foul mood at the time." Having said that, I got up from the bed - even though I really didn't want to - and gave his hair a quick ruffle, "No hard feelings, eh?"  
"Do you always forgive people this easily?"  
"Please! I've been known to hold grudges for months and months! You're just one of the lucky ones," I said, then muttered under my breath, 'I don't know what it is about you, though.'  
"What do you wish to do now?" he asked.  
"First things first, we're gonna take care of these jitters of yours! And I know just the way to do it," I said, wasting no time in opening my backpack and rummaging inside. Stacked among the many things I'd left in there after the plane rides was my dad's _Hell Freezes Over_ CD by the Eagles.  
Handing it triumphantly to him I said, "This thing really calmed MY nerves when I was on that long flight from Heathrow."  
Turning the case over and over in his hands, he just had to ask, "You're not afraid of flying, are you?"  
"Naw, not afraid. Extremely horrified are the words you're looking for."  
"And how good are these 'Eagles'?" he asked, still turning the box round and round.  
"Come on! It's the Eagles! They're only the greatest group in the entire universe!" I said in surprise. Who the heck hasn't heard of the Eagles?!  
"I've not heard of them."  
"Yeesh, then you've never lived! Put it on right now!"  
Without a word further, he opened up this large cupboard near his bed and inside was the coolest hi-fi system I'd ever seen in my whole life. I couldn't hide my jealousy I was feeling at the time; I should totally get that for my birthday, which was just around the corner.  
As he was putting the CD in (and I'd stopped drooling for the gorgeous piece of equipment) I managed to tell him, "Go ahead and skip it to Track 6. That's their most famous song."  
He did just that and within seconds we were listening to the awesome guitar solo, that then led to the start of the famous _Hotel California_.  
"Ah, doesn't Mr. Don Henley have the sexiest voice you've ever heard?" I asked swooningly.  
"Yes, he certainly does," he responded whilst trying to bite back a laugh.  
"Hey, you just made a funny! I knew you could!"  
Sadly, almost as soon as the song had come to its powerful close, we heard this really cold voice call out Gaara's name. I could just feel this sense of impending doom right then.  
His eyes widening slightly, he quickly shut off the system, closed the cupboard and made sure it was securely locked. With that, I was suddenly being shoved to what I assumed was the closet, though it was so big, it might as well have been another room. Before I could even ask, the door was quickly opened, I was pushed in, and then the door closed again.  
'Man! How do I always get myself in these predicaments?' I asked myself. I could feel really soft cloth all around me; so I was indeed stuffed in the closet.  
Opening the door just a tiny wee inch, I could make out this tall chap. He would've been what I'd call good-looking, but he just looked so cold and mean… 'Ugh, the man's his own Halloween costume!'  
I couldn't make out what was being said between them, but it certainly didn't look like it was anything good. Not with the way my friend was holding his head down and even trembling slightly.  
'Poor guy… I'd hate to have a father like that…'  
Just as quickly as the guy had come in he was gone. With that, my pale friend went to his knees, sighing in what might've been relief. Can't blame him at all.  
'Wait, what am I still doing in here? Go and help him, you moron!' I scolded myself.  
Joining him and clutching his shoulders, I asked, "You okay there, chum?"  
"I have to get out of here," he said looking as though he might start hyperventilating at any moment.  
"No worries, buddy! We'll go to my place."  
Really, I wasn't the clingy type, but I couldn't help myself then. I didn't even realize I had done it at first, to tell the truth. Yet there I was holding him in my arms and pressing his forehead to my shoulder, whilst keeping the angry words I had running in my head to myself.

v-v

It was around 2 hours later that we'd finally managed to get out of the house without being spotted by that old coot and get to my apartment.  
"Anyone home?"  
No answer. A second later, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. Ah, it was a message from my parents. They'd just gone out for lunch. Just fine by me.  
Another message came in as I was about to say something… "Now what is it?"  
Opening it back up there came my mom's warning that I'd best be ready for the 5 o' clock Mass. "Yeah, yeah…" I mumbled at the phone.  
"What?"  
"Oh, nothing to worry about. I just have to be changed in time for Mass. I heard my parents say the Church we're going to is really beautiful. Can't wait to see it myself."  
I was tempted to ask Gaara what religion he practiced, but I feared he might think me rude so I kept my mouth shut. I myself was born and raised as a Catholic-Christian; I felt kind of sad that I won't be able to attend the Christmas Mass in my old hometown this year.  
He surprised me with the following question, "Would it be all right if I went with you?"  
"What kind of question is that? Of course it would!"  
Hm, I could see I was really going to have some tough competition considering the really fine clothes Gaara had on now. We'll see about that.  
"So like, I still have about 2 hours to get ready. Now don't say I didn't warn you, but my dad tends to get a little rambunctious behind the wheel," I said, wishing that it was a joke.  
"I'll keep that in mind," he responded while taking a seat on the couch.  
'Still seems shaken…'  
Back in the kitchen, I made him a really strong cup of tea. They say that usually calms a person down, might as well give it a try.

v-v

Since Gaara refused to speak no matter what conversation I tried to engage him in, I decided then was as good a time as any to go on and change into my evening clothes.  
In my room I found an outfit waiting for me on my bed - a pretty lavender dress with a matching blouse thingy to go with it. It was sort of a nice combination but there were two huge problems: Problem 1, I was too old to be wearing outfits picked out by my mother. Problem 2, I wouldn't wear a dress or a skirt if I was offered a million dollars. Picking up the clothes with two fingers like it was something yucky, I marched to my parents' room and dumped them on the bed, not really bothering to be careful of creases.  
'Sheesh! When will parents learn?'  
Picking out something myself, I was soon dressed up in my best black pants and super-comfy dark gray polo-neck, over which I'd put on this gorgeous pink Chinese-style shirt (with those cool buttons) covered in pretty Oriental designs. Slipping on my black boots (I sure like those 'thlunk' sounds they make, heh), I began to ponder how I was going to tame my now extremely messy hair. Then…  
"IDEA!"  
I almost expected Gaara to come rushing in here at my sudden outburst, but that did not happen. Ah well…  
Hairbrush in hand and hair-tie in the other, I went back to the couch. Yep, he was still there just staring at the dark TV screen, the tea untouched and stone-cold.  
"Say, can you help me with my hair again?"  
Nothing.  
"Uh, okay, please help me with my hair?"  
No cigar.  
Waving a hand in front of his face and still getting no reaction, I began to worry. 'How would Naruto deal with this sorta situation?'  
Jumping on the cushion next to him, I dropped the stuff out of my hands, grabbed onto his clothes and began to shake him as hard as I could, "Come back, buddy! Come back to me, please!"  
After a few more seconds of this, my hands were forcibly pushed away, and he asked me as though I'd lost my mind, "What are you doing?"  
"Getting you back in the zone! What are YOU doing?"  
He didn't answer. Man, what did that mean jerk father of his say to him back then? I truly wanted to ask him and find out, but I just couldn't bring myself to. The last thing I wanted was for him to close up completely. I'd feel absolutely terrible if I caused that to happen.  
"Listen, I could really use some help with my hair."  
"You're not going to sing again, are you?"  
Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up that I can't sing.  
"I'm not that mean," I said playing along.  
As if on cue he held out his hand, into which I dropped the brush. Now, usually brushing my hair is a true pain in the neck, but for the second time this weekend I felt like I was in complete paradise.  
'Heh, I wonder what those three morons back home would be thinking if they knew I had this uber-handsome, simply sweetest guy brushing my hair. Ha!'  
"Why are you grinning like that?" I managed to hear my friend ask in an unsure voice.  
"Am I grinning?" I tried playing innocent. Like I'd tell him I was having some really giddy thoughts about him buzzing in my head. "Oh, I was just thinking about something real funny! Yeah, that's it. Hilarious."  
"What was it?"  
"Huh?"  
"This 'real funny' thing. What was it?"  
"Uh…" For crying out loud, now is one of those times I could really use a lie or a fib or a story or something that wasn't at all close to what I had been truly thinking. Suddenly, it hit me. "I was thinking about that Nativity Scene skit on Mr. Bean that we watched last night."  
At the sound of his really soft laugh, I figured I was safe.  
'Phew! Thank you, Mr. Bean!'  
Well, since I brought it up, "Say, I feel like watching that episode again. Do you?"  
"Let me finish first."  
"Aye aye, cap'n!"  
A few minutes later he claimed he was done, so I went to the nearest mirror to check out the result. Gosh, this kid's a genius is what he is! He had tied my now perfectly-brushed hair into a low ponytail with a pretty red ribbon that we found (quite conveniently) on the coffee table, but left some strands free to frame the sides of my face. It all seemed so simple, yet every time I tried to style my hair like this, it always ended up looking disastrous. My friend actually succeeded in making my hair look pretty. (miracle of miracles)  
'If Mom doesn't complain this time about having my hair tied, I'm gonna hire Gaara to be my personal hairstylist!'

v-v

After I'd failed in finding my ancient Mr. Bean tape, we decided to just talk until the rest of the family got back home. We ended up learning quite a few things about each other, too.  
For starters, you know, to get them out of the way and all, I confessed all of my fears in order:  
1. All bugs and spiders (with some very few exceptions)  
2. Getting my blood drawn (3 panic attacks are NOT a charm)  
3. Thunderstorms (after the way I'd clung to Gaara the other day, he could easily believe that)  
4. Flying (as I was about to explain)  
5. Clowns (including Ronald McDonald)  
"Isn't it amazing how minor turbulence could leave a girl traumatized about flying for the rest of her days?"  
"You did say you were 9, though."  
"Yep. I thought I was going to be blown into smithereens before my age hit the double digits," I said, playing with the free strands hanging over my shoulder.  
I'd also found out, contrary to what I'd thought earlier, that Gaara was actually older than me, by nearly a year. I thought it was really neat that we shared the same dates on our birth months (though I left out the fact that this was the same case for my younger brother).  
"Sure is a pity our building has a super-strict no animals policy. I really wanted a kitten for my birthday," I said with a little sigh.  
"We can't have everything in this world of ours," he said back, though I felt that that last part was being pointed at his awful father.  
Somewhere along the way, we'd ended up telling each other what we wanted to be once we're adults. I'd said that now that my dream of becoming an American citizen was at last realized, I wanted to become a famous authoress. Gaara himself wasn't truly sure what he wished, so I gave a helping hand.  
"How 'bout a musician?"  
"What?" he asked looking absolutely appalled with my suggestion.  
"You've got perfect musician's hands, did no one ever tell you?" I pointed out holding his left hand in front of my eyes. I spotted this out a short while ago myself; his hands were absolutely beautiful and just perfectly shaped to handle most instruments.  
Before he could answer, the front door was unlocked and opened and in dashed my brother, thankfully zooming straight for his room.  
Jumping off the couch, I dashed to the door to greet my parents. "Hiyas, parents! I had a blast of a weekend, how 'bout you?"  
"Looks like living in America is really agreeing with you," said my mom, fingering some of the free strands in, I hoped, admiration. "Why don't you wear your hair this way more often?"  
Bingo, bingo, bingo!  
"You like? That's all thanks to my new pal!" I beamed, pointing at Gaara, who had stood up from the couch though remained frozen in front of the coffee table. Oh well, might as well carry on with the introductions…  
Going back to the couch, I grabbed one of his hands and dragged him to meet my folks.  
"Ma, Dad, this is my new buddy, Sabaku Gaara. Gaara, my folks. Now, if you'll excuse me, it's orange soda time!" (hey, I've had only one glass for the whole day! A girl's got to recharge sometime!) However, before I'd taken even one step, my left hand was quickly grabbed by my redheaded friend. Ah, the things I do for love!  
"Well, nice to meet you, dear!" Mom said shaking Gaara's free hand.  
"Likewise, ma'am," he said in a most polite voice.  
"Hey, uh, is this gonna take long? I really need some orange soda," I moaned trying to tug my hand free, alas… Gaara's grip was way, WAY too tight.  
"Mind your manners!"  
"Er, I meant, is this gonna take long, please?"  
Receiving two sets of really furious glares, I hastily shut my mouth and let them get on with it. Jeez, what's with them? I DID say 'please'!  
Once everything was all said and done, my parents left to change for the evening.  
"Dude, let go of my hand!" I practically begged.  
"Oh, sorry about that," he said, dare I say it, sheepishly.  
"That's quite a grip you got there, just don't use it on me next time," I groused as we went into the cozy little kitchen. That's when I remembered I no longer had my secret stash of orange soda, on account of I hadn't bought any since we got here.  
"Aw, shucks! No carbonated orangey yumminess!" I cried, eyeing the limited choice we had in the fridge; water and orange juice… some things never really change.  
Just then, we heard a knock on the door.  
"Could you get that? It's probably the babysitter!" called Mom.  
"Babysitter, huh?"  
Without a word, we made our way to the door, and I opened it. At the doorway was a girl roughly my age. She had blonde hair and blue eyes filled with arrogance. She had an odd sense of style if I say it myself, and she seemed way creepy when I made eye-contact with her.  
'_This_ is a babysitter? Woof!'  
Without introducing herself or anything, her eyes quickly darted to my friend. Aw, cripes! She's not gonna flirt with him too, is she?!  
"Well, well. Sabaku, what an unpleasant surprise this is!"  
Eh?  
"What the hell are YOU doing here?!" was Gaara's response, politeness having gone to a galaxy far, far away.  
"Wait, wait! Hold the phone! What's with the attitude here?"  
"Oh, silly me! How could I forget my manners?" said the girl with a smirk.  
"Maybe because you have none to begin with…" muttered my friend.  
"I heard that, you makeup-wearing freak!"  
Oh no, she didn't!  
"You'd better take that back before I kick your behind to Kingdom Come!" I said through gritted teeth.  
"Whatever. The name's Meno, by the way. And where's the little munchkin I'll be taking care of?"  
"Meno? You're the prat that got Naruto in trouble, aren't you!?" I accused.  
"I have no idea what you're talking about. You see, he does a splendid job of doing that on his own," she said with a sneer while helping herself to the couch.  
Before I could answer her right back (or preferably pound her), I was pulled back to the kitchen.  
"Why her?" was all Gaara asked.  
"How should I know? I didn't even know they were gonna hire a babysitter!" I said, filled with rage at the cow's awful behavior.  
"Okay, shall we be on our way?" came my dad's friendly voice.  
"We can't leave that girl in charge, Dad," I began.  
"Why not?"  
"She's a… a… She's a witch! A witch, I tell you!" I realize I sounded like an overly-dramatic knucklehead, but I couldn't help myself at the time. Anyhow, I bet I wasn't far from the truth; I'm sure she had a big ole broomstick hiding somewhere, and that her house was made entirely of candy to lure unsuspecting kids into her evil clutches.  
"Don't be silly, Claire. She's really nice," interrupted Mom.  
'Nice? She must have used the ultimate form of butt-kissing to be able to convince anyone that she's NICE!'  
"Come on, or we'll be late!" my parents said as we were both pushed to the door.  
"But she turns kids into pastries! She's evil!"

v-v

"You're both being awfully quiet," tried my mom.  
"I keep worrying about my stuff. You shoulda let me lock my room!" I grumbled.  
"Don't be such a baby," intervened my dad.  
"Well excuse me for living," I said, hiding the snap in my voice.  
After about an hour's worth of driving, we were finally inside the Church. I must say I was almost thankful for all the snow as even my dad could see that driving fast in such weather conditions would have been a hazard; good for Mother Nature!  
Once we were seated, I couldn't help but to eye every single nook and cranny of the building. It was truly beautiful, just like my parents said it would be.  
In all honesty, I have to say I enjoyed the Service immensely. Everything about it was perfect, especially when the Hymns and Christmas music were being sung, and that's when I got the most pleasant surprise of all as well.  
When the first piece came, I was holding my book in front of my face but not singing, and then I heard this rich strong voice singing to the words I was reading. My jaw literally fell wide open when I saw that the gorgeous voice was coming out of Gaara's mouth. With each word he sang, his eyes practically glowed.  
'Wow! Is there anything this guy can't do?'  
It took me a minute to realize my heart had started to beat ten times faster. Phew, is it getting awful warm in here? Quietly closing the book, I began to discreetly fan my face with it.  
When it was over, I whispered to him, "but you're just full of surprises, aren't you?"  
With that, I was looking forward to every time there was singing, not only so that I could hear my friend sing, but also to see that peaceful look on his face, his horrible experiences with his nasty father and that Meno girl not seeming to matter to him anymore.

v-v

"Wow! That Church is awesome!" I said trying to hide away all my giddiness as I was putting on my seatbelt.  
"Really? What did you like best about it?"  
Oh, come on! Is she seriously quizzing me about this? I certainly couldn't give her my honest answer, which was listening to Gaara sing, but I certainly wasn't going to lie, even if I could.  
"Um, I liked the whole thing equally," I attempted.  
I was saved when my red-haired pal continued with, "I quite agree with you."  
Phew… Hiding this rapidly-growing crush I'd developed on him was getting harder and harder. I certainly couldn't deny it to myself any longer.  
"Now, what would you rather do tonight? Join us at our business dinner or stay at home?" Dad asked.  
"Home!" Gaara and I shouted together at once.  
"Home it is," Mom said with a laugh.  
When we got there, I found this energy out of nowhere to run all the way to the 50th floor, slam my key into the keyhole and barge in, "All right! Pack your bags, Meno! You're outta here!"  
"Where's that loser boyfriend of yours?" she challenged.  
Man, if I hadn't just come home from Church she'd be in SO much trouble!  
"First of all, you kymekwaut, he's not my boyfriend. And second of all, if you insult him one more time you'd better hope you have your will written and ready!"  
She rolled her eyes as she packed her things.  
In a minute or so I was joined by my friend, who looked at the blonde girl with such ferocity I was almost certain he was going to hit her. Quickly grabbing his arm and leading him to my room, I located the key and bolted it shut.  
I gave the room a thorough inspection, sighing in relief when I saw that everything was left untouched. I was beyond certain she would stoop as low as to take something that didn't belong to her, but I guess she wouldn't risk doing that on the job, especially since our first meeting was a disaster. She might be a creepy cow if I ever saw one, but she wasn't stupid.  
"Bleh! I can't wait to see her royal majesty again in school tomorrow," I said getting out a pair of pajamas.  
"Now you see why it's better to stay away from her?" he said.  
"Talk about learning a lesson the hard way."  
"I'm thinking you're right," he said while absently going through the books Lee had been shelving the other day.  
"'Bout what?"  
"She must be a witch."  
Unable to control ourselves then, we actually burst out laughing.

v-v

"That's correct, my good man! 1 large BBQ Chicken pan pizza with extra cheese, extra sauce, oh, and extra onions! And DON'T forget my chocolate shake!" I said cheerily through the cordless phone.  
"Weren't you just promising you'd have a healthy dinner?" asked Gaara without looking up from his work (yes, indeed, he was back at it - it wasn't even due for tomorrow!).  
"I had my fingers crossed," I answered as I flipped on the tube; phew, I am SO glad my brother was already tucked in bed and that he was a really sound sleeper (he could easily sleep through an earthquake, and that's no lie). More pizza for me, yay!  
"Maybe instead of watching television all the time, you should be getting your things ready for school," he said in a matter-of-fact voice.  
"Heh heh heh, you kill me!" I said sarcastically.  
"What about your speech?"  
"Speech? Why would I give you a speech?"  
At that question, Gaara looked at me like he couldn't believe his ears. Hey, I thought that was a funny comeback myself.  
"You mean you have nothing prepared?" he demanded.  
"Am I missing something? What speech?" I demanded myself, turning the TV back off.  
"Surely you know that you're to speak in front of our classmates and teachers tomorrow?"  
"WHAT?! Tell me you're making one of your really rare funnies!" I cried shaking his shoulders.  
"Stop that!"  
I was so panicked then, I actually felt the room spinning round and round and round… Oh, wait… that was me pacing around the coffee table like a lunatic. How could I have not known about some speech thingy and yet Gaara knew?! Better even, why didn't my parents tell me?! I'm always the last to know anything, even if that something happens to be about yours truly.  
"I am NOT speaking in front of no one!"  
"That didn't even make sense."  
"You know, you are THIS close to getting a smack upside your fuzzy head!" I glared at him.  
"Just stop panicking and sit down," he offered.  
"Easy for you to say," I mumbled chomping on my fingernails.  
Before anything else could be said, there was a knock on the door. Gee, normally I'd be feeling great about the food-delivery service being this fast, but right now I absolutely couldn't care less. My appetite was completely gone. Still, couldn't leave the poor pizza guy hanging…  
Heaving a really long sigh, I went to open the door.  
"HIYA! HIYA!" Naruto greeted with a bear-hug.  
"Let go, you maniac!"  
"Jeez, what's your problem?" the blonde asked inviting himself in.  
"For starters, your pal over there is really confused. He's actually convinced I have to give some speech thingy or other tomorrow."  
"Oh, that. What are you gonna say? How 'bout a sneak-preview?" Naruto pleaded slinging his bulky bag off his shoulders.  
"I'll tell you what I'm gonna say: nothing!"  
"But you have to," the blue-eyed one argued.  
"No, I don't. I'm not giving any speeches and you can't make me!" I challenged, poking a finger into his chest.  
"Hey, it's not like I made it mandatory! What's the big deal, anyways? You just need to talk about yourself for like 20 minutes and it's over!"  
"TWENTY MINUTES?!"  
For the second time, there came a knock on the door, followed by, "Pizza Hut Delivery!"  
"Yay! Pizza!" Naruto cheered whooping the air.  
Getting out the money I had in my pocket that my parents had given me to pay for dinner, I opened the door again.  
"1 large BBQ Chicken pan pizza and a chocolate shake," said the man holding out the stuff.  
"Great… Here you go, keep the change."  
"Uh, but this is a $100 bill," he said in puzzlement.  
"Call it your Christmas Bonus. Okay then, see ya!" I snapped, grabbing the food and slamming the door in the poor bloke's face. (and that, dear parents, is why you should NEVER entrust your fourteen-year-old child with your hard-earned $100!)  
"Help yourselves, then. I'll be in the bathroom having a really big fit," I muttered as I dropped the cardboard box on the table, then took several huge gulps of the shake… Wait… "BRAIN FREEZE!"  
"She's even worse than you," whispered Gaara to Naruto.  
"I heard that, you jerk."  
"Just relax. Why don't ya try practicing on us?"  
"Here's why, because I am not doing it," I finally said firmly, plopping down onto Dad's recliner and crossing my arms over my chest.  
"Stop being so stubborn. It's not the end of the world, you know?"  
Oh, that does it! That does it! I've had it up to here with his 'I'm oh-so calm about everything' attitude!  
"Hey, I have an idea! Why don't you try saying something useful!?" I shouted, hurling a cushion at him, which Naruto was quick to catch.  
"You know something? I'm starting to get really sick and tired of your overreacting attitude," Gaara said slamming both hands on one of his many open books.  
"The feeling's mutual, you bocciagalupe!" I shot back.  
"Sheesh! This is like your third fight since you've known each other!" joked Naruto.  
Just like that, I was feeling extremely guilty. I finally realized I was acting like a complete brat. They were only trying to help after all, and all I kept doing was jump down their throats without even trying to consider any of their suggestions.  
"Aw, shucks! You guys are right! I'm sorry!" I said in near-tears, giving them each a huge hug.  
"Hey now, no worries! Right, Gaara?" Naruto said cheerfully, elbowing the redhead sharply after I'd let go.  
He didn't answer, but he gave me one tiny nod, even though his eyes said otherwise. Ah well, I had it coming really.  
"Man, I'm depressed! I need a cookie!" I sniffed and marched to the kitchen to find just that.  
I began to rummage in every cupboard, drawer, jar, the oven (hey, you never know!), fridge… "Chocolate-Cream Oreos! A depressed gal's best friend!"  
The two boys still in the sitting-room, I could hear Naruto singing the Krusty Krab Pizza song whilst drumming away on the pizza box like it was a bongo drum. Listening to him, I wondered how in the world I could have ever raised my voice to that lovable kid.  
Not expecting the sudden tap to my shoulder, I let out a startled shriek, tossing the box of cookies above my head.  
"Jeez, don't ever do that again! You scared me to death!" I said between gasps, bending down to pick up the Oreos box.  
Since I could still hear Naruto rocking out on the abused box, I began to feel most awkward being alone with you-know-who. After all, he hadn't actually forgiven me. Not really wanting to face him, I dropped the cookies onto the counter and propped myself up on one of the stools.  
'Whoops! I forgot the milk…'  
"Say, uh, be a pal and pass the milk," I said in an uncharacteristically small voice, searching for where the glasses were kept. "Aha! I found you!"  
Triumphantly placing two glasses on the counter, I was back on my stool and tearing into the nummy chocolatey goodness. At the same time, Gaara poured us both a most generous helping of milk.  
As I dipped two cookies into the milk, he drummed his fingers round his glass, the both of us staying quiet.  
"Hey! Have you two made up or what? I'm starving!" came the blonde's energetic voice as he bounced into the room, holding the pizza box, squished beyond recognition, on top of his head.  
"To tell ya the honest truth, I have no idea," was my uncomfortable answer.  
"Come on now, kiss and make up!" Naruto laughed, helping himself to the pizza.  
"EW!" I choked, my face turning scarlet red. "I'm not kissing anybody! No way, no how!"  
"Stop acting like I don't know! I'm too smart for that!"  
"What are you talking about? What do you know?"  
"Aw, please! Just drop it! I have bigger problems on my mind! Remember, speeches, anxiety attacks, drowning away my downy mood in cookies?"  
With that last bit having been said, a pale hand fell onto mine. Looking up one way, I saw Naruto scarfing down his third pizza slice, dripping sauce all over the counter. Looking the other way, I could swear my heart stopped beating for a minute right then. Gaara had that gorgeous smile on his face and he was mouthing, 'I forgive you.'  
The blonde, as usual, had to ruin everything all too soon… "AHA! What's your excuse now?!"  
"Uh, he was just shooing a fly offa my hand. Nothing to get all excitable about…"  
"Yeah? Well, I still think…"  
But what Naruto still thought is something we may never (thankfully) know, as he'd suddenly glanced at the clock and noticed it was 9 o' clock. "Yikes! I gotta get home! See ya both tomorrow at school!"  
With speed that would have made the Road Runner extremely jealous, he'd grabbed his bag, sprinted to the door, and mere seconds later I could actually make him out through the snow-covered window of the kitchen.  
'Saa… This is awkward…'  
Unconsciously, I took out one Oreo cookie after the other and crushed them in my milk. After I'd emptied the whole thing, I wasn't really feeling any better. (I had just wasted an entire box of super-delicious cookies. Heck, I felt worse!)  
Pacing back and forth with my hands tucked behind my back, I tried to think things through, '20 minutes, huh? What could I say about myself that can last for that long a time? Hm… I could talk about when I got a summer job to buy my PSOne… No, that's boring! Let's see, I can always talk about the fact that my eldest cousin has the hugest collection of X-Men toys in the history of the US… But that isn't really about me… Oh, man!'  
"What's on your mind?"  
His question was asked so softly I could just barely hear it.  
"Blargh! I dunno what I'm gonna talk about for 20 minutes. How's about I shorten it to 2 minutes? I can do 2 minutes."  
"Why don't you say a few things about your old home?" he suggested.  
"Uh, if I were to, it'd still be too short. All I can say about that is: my life there was really boring and uneventful… No, wait, there's a neat fun factor about Gozo."  
"Which is?"  
"Welp, according to research, THE oldest manmade structure in the entire world is found right there! Did ya know that? I bet you didn't!" I said, my voice filling with great pride.  
"That's interesting, but…" he began.  
"I know, that's not something that applies to me… Gotta think about something else," I said with a sigh and plopped back down on my seat, chin resting on both my palms.  
Why must the life of a teenager be so tricky and chock-filled with obstacles?

End Chapter 4

Nyuk, I swear this story has taken a mind all its own. That certainly would explain why it keeps getting longer and fluffier.  
I want to say this first before anything else; I am indeed a Catholic-Christian and have absolutely NO qualms or whatever with those who practice different religions! If this story gave that impression in any way, please don't flame me about it, because I hate meaningless fights. This is a part I couldn't resist adding in the story - it felt so cute, and even sweet that I just had to write it. All clear? Goodie! Let's keep going.  
Heh heh, for those who are curious, that list of my 5 greatest fears is completely true. I'm a bit of a scaredy-cat, aren't I?  
Woo, I simply had to add in something about the Eagles in there. I love oldies music tons, and the Eagles are my most favorite group of them all, ranking somewhere after The Black Mages and TWO-MIX. (and yes, Don Henley is my favorite. I can never decide with the others, but right now I'm all for Joe Walsh) I'm SO jealous that my parents got to see them live on their Long Road Out of Eden tour! SO LUCKY! They played my favorite of their long songs, 'Waiting in the Weeds'… _sighs_  
As you can see, some new familiar faces have appeared, albeit briefly. Don't y'all just hate Gaara's dad? He's so creepy and mean! (whenever I see pictures of him, I go all, "Yah! It's the evil daddy!") The gal, Meno, is from the game Konoha Spirits. She doesn't exist in the anime or manga (phew!). That chick really gives me the creeps! As for the witch part, that's an idea I got from one of Gaara's lines in the game, as he indeed called her an evil witch (though I still say she deserved more than just being called a witch).  
Oh yes, I couldn't resist to add that bit about Ggantija, the oldest manmade structure in the whole world. That truly makes me proud to be a Gozitan. Gozo may be the most boring place to live in, it being so tiny and the things I love to do most do not exist (my dream job is to work with animals, but there's really not much to be offered) but I can't deny how great its historical value is.  
With that all said, do review! I crave 'em like my mom's cheesecake… well, almost like my mom's cheesecake.


	6. First Day of School and… Cross Dressing?

Title: Not All as It Seems  
Warnings: Comedy galore, and beware of fluff and loviness  
Pairings: Gaara/Young, Shikamaru/Temari, Naruto/Sakura/Lee (for more comedy), attempts at Naruto/Hinata and Mist/Ino (he does try, bless him _giggle_); any requests? Don't hesitate to ask me, and I'll try my best

Disclaimer: Let's put it this way, if Naruto was mine, Gaara would have reappeared in Shippuden much earlier than he did. And if it was mine, I'd give Sari more screen-time too! (what? Sasuke has a bajillion fangirls in the show, and Gaara can't have one? Outrageous!)

Claimer: The characters Granny Nadia, Dawn Tribal, Young Valentine and Mist Shidou are mine and mine alone! If you wanna borrow them for a story of your own, feel free to ask. I'll always say yes. Young is the only character I've created (way back in 2002, phew) that I've actually really liked, and she went through various phases and changes before I put her into the novel I'm writing (which I'll hopefully see published one day).

My Thank You Corner Continues…  
DidiTwitches – thank you, thank you, thank you for yet another lovely review! You really made my day with your encouraging words! **prances and dances  
**J. S. Comack – wow! Thanks a million for reviewing it, faving it AND putting it on your Story Alert! You don't know how much that inspired and encouraged me! Thank you! \^-^/

A/N: Don't ask me how these chapters keep getting longer… It's a mystery… (Scooby Doo, Where are You!)

Chapter 5  
First Day of School and… Cross-Dressing?

8th December, 2002 (Sunday)

"No one can defeat me! Look at my huge sword and cool sunglasses!" said Auron oh-so proudly.  
"Golly! What a hunk!" said Aeris, clasping her hands to her cheek.  
"He's got nothin' on me!" intervened Pan, ready to kick some plastic butt.  
"What can you do? You're just a chick!" put in Kaiobit.  
"Oh yeah? Take this… Karate!" shouted Pan whilst landing a swift kick to his chest.  
"Oh no! This doesn't bode well for Sir Auron! Whatever shall he do?" I said in a dramatic voice, posing my Auron and Aeris action-figures to fight off the evil Pan. "This looks like a job for the all-powerful Pez Teddy!"  
Hm… I still couldn't make heads or tails of what I wanted to say for that speech thing tomorrow, so I'd convinced Gaara earlier to give me some alone-time in my room to calmly figure it out. Sometime later found a bunch of my action-figures spread around my bed, and the speech long-forgotten.  
Just as I was about to make Teddy thwack Pan where the sun don't shine, a soft knock sounded at my door.  
"Come on in!" I said without thinking.  
"I wanted to let you know… What's all this?" came Gaara's astonished voice at what I was doing. If he wasn't such a calm and collected person, I'm sure his jaw would have been somewhere on the floor at this moment.  
"Uh… I was… just, let's see… I was practicing my speech… Yeah, that's it! I was just pretending these figures here were the other students and teachers, yeah!" I attempted, my eyes glued to the carpet next to my bed.  
From the corner of my eye I saw him give me a most stern look that told me he didn't believe a word I said…  
Wait! Wait a minute! Why should I be afraid of him? So what if I was playing? This is a free country, and I have every right to do what I want in MY room! He's not the boss of me!  
"Okay, fine! Ya caught me! I was playing with MY toys in MY home! What, you gonna tell on me?"  
What are you going to say to that, tough guy?  
"No, no, go ahead and play with your dolls. It's time I was on my way home, anyway," was his calm answer.  
Dolls! These aren't dolls! These are… Wait, did he say he was going to leave?  
"Wait! Don't go! I'll work! I'll work!" I cried, clinging to one of his legs. (oh dear, if Naruto saw me now he'd never let me live this down)  
"I'll have to go pretty soon," he said, sounding like he was trying to hide a chuckle.  
Standing up straight, I looked at him with panic plastered all over my face. "You mean you'd leave me here? All by myself? At night? Alone? With no one around?"  
"Are you trying to make me feel guilty?"  
"Nuh-uh! I'd never do that, but please, please stay!" I begged clasping my hands together in front of my face.  
"I should have been home hours ago," he said with a hand tucked under his chin.  
"Ah, just stay the night! I'll deal with your nasty father… whoops!"  
Yikes! He did look angry. But then again, it didn't look like he was angry at what I'd said. More like he was angry at the thought of his father talking to me. Of course, I could be wrong.  
"Sorry, I didn't mean that," I mumbled. (oh yes, I did!)  
"Yes, you did. Stop lying to me," Gaara said in a cross voice.  
Running one hand sheepishly behind my head, I offered, "Sorry…" then added, "But he was being mean to you earlier! I can't forgive that!"  
He was about to say something back, but thankfully I was spared when the phone rang. That was literally the only time in my life that I was happy, no eager, to answer it.  
I raced to the kitchen, ignoring my fluttering heartbeat and rosy cheeks, and picked up the cordless phone lying on the kitchen counter.  
"He-hello?"  
"That you, kiddo?" came the familiar elderly voice on the other end.  
"Granny? How'd you get this number?" I asked in surprise.  
"I had Gaara give it to me before you left, just in case," she said cheerfully.  
"Swell!" I wonder… "Say, you think it'd be okay if he stayed here tonight? I don't want to be here all alone."  
"What about your parents?"  
"Business dinner."  
"Well, if it'll keep my Gaara away from that yutz son-in-law of mine, I'd have to say yes," she replied, though she sounded like she partly wanted him to come home.  
"Wow, Granny! You're the awesomest person ever!"  
"Put him on, why don't you, dearie?" she asked, sounding quite pleased.  
"You bet!" I said and ran to do just that.  
Giving him some privacy, I searched around for some extra pillows and blankets and set them on the huge window seat in my room. I admired for the hundredth time how large it was. An average-sized person like me could easily (and comfortably) sleep there.  
As I was fluffing up the pillows, there came a tap on my shoulder. Miraculously, I didn't get startled this time. Right now I was inexplicably happy, and I felt like nothing at all could faze me. I wasn't even worried about the speech anymore.  
"Uh-huh?"  
"Looks like you're getting your wish this time," my friend said in a tone of voice that seemed to say, 'what just happened?'  
"Oh really?"  
At the sound of him clearing his throat I was reminded how I upset him by lying earlier. I guess playing dumb was out of the question, then.  
"You didn't leave me much choice, now did you? Besides, you wouldn't really leave me here alone and scared, would you?"  
"Hmph," was his answer.  
"Riiiiight. I'll take that as a, 'why no, of course not, pal of mine!' I'm just gonna get me some coffee and then I'll get down with that speech, even if it takes me all night."  
A few minutes later, and after our argument on who should sleep on the bed (he wouldn't hear of me sleeping on the window seat, but what kind of hostess would I be if I had him sleep on the couch?), I was snuggled amongst four sheets of blankets on said window seat, coffee mug well within reach, and a stack of papers resting on my lap.  
"Should I open it with a joke? I have a pretty good one in mind," I pondered out loud, drumming my pen against the wall.  
"What is it?" he humored me, pausing from studying my collection of books.  
"Here goes: 'I was walking down the road, when I came across two unusual chaps.' Now say, 'why were they unusual?'"  
"What?"  
"Come on, play along!"  
With an impatient sigh he muttered, "Why were they unusual?"  
"'Well, they were unlike most blokes I'd ever met. One told me he is too afraid to play scary video games, whereas the other insists on doing his homework on a Friday night. Isn't that…'"  
Before I could finish my sentence, the pillow on my bed was flung across the room, hitting me square on the face and knocking my reading glasses onto the sheets.  
Whoopsie, looks like he figured out who I was joking about.  
"Uh, maybe we should skip the joke," I said with a weak grin.  
"Yes, maybe we should," he answered with a smirk.

v-v

"Okay then, Gaara. Take a gander at this one," I said while highlighting a particularly funny paragraph. But as I looked up to read it to him, I saw that he was sound asleep.  
Still fully dressed with his shoes pressed to the bedspread, he had one arm resting on his tummy and the other on his forehead. The book he'd been reading was left open lying on his chest, rising and falling with each breath.  
I had half a mind to wake him and scold him for putting his shoes on my bed like that, but I quickly thought better of it. He gets so little sleep, he must have been beyond exhausted by now.  
Taking a couple of the sheets I had wrapped around me, I covered Gaara up with them, taking the book (_The Funhouse_ - ooh, does he like Dean Koontz, too?) and placing it on my desk, which was now laden with crumpled paper. After that, without realizing what I was doing, I walked back to the bed, bent down and pressed a tiny kiss on his left cheek.  
"'Night, 'night," I said in a whispered voice.  
Going back to my makeshift bed, I put my successfully completed speech alongside the crumpled bits of paper, turned off the lights and settled in for the night.

v-v

By 5 o' clock, I was awake and no matter how I tried, I couldn't get back to sleep. Just for the heck of it, I tried counting sheep, but I gave up after getting to 200 and being even more awake than before.  
Stretching my arms wide open, I noted my friend was still asleep. Looking behind me, I could see the first rays of sunshine rising slowly. There were just a few clouds and it was fairly windy.  
Keeping as quiet as I could, I opened up my bag to make sure I had everything ready for school and tucked in my speech between my math book and a couple of comics.  
After a quick shower and dressing in the same clothes I had on last night, I poured some Fruit Loops in a bowl and plopped down on the couch. However, since I could find nothing good on the tube, I got back up to toss a video in the VCR. Ah, _Sleeping Beauty_! Let's watch that!  
However, just as I was getting the ancient tape out of its worn box, my ears were treated (or not) to the irritating Pokémon theme song… What the?  
Turning my head back, I saw my little brother holding the remote triumphantly in one of his hands and munching on my cereal! Why, I oughta just pummel him, here and now!  
"What's the big idea, you little twerp! That's my breakfast, and in case you didn't know, I was watching that first!" I growled, trying to keep my voice down and pointing at the box still clasped in my hand.  
"Sleeping Beauty's dumb," he said in his annoying voice (no, it is NOT cute).  
"Is not!"  
"Is too!"  
"Must you two always argue?" interrupted my mom's voice from the kitchen. Hmph! Knowing her, she'll most likely take _his_ side, for he is so cute and can do no wrong!  
Hm… Except I'm not going to give her a chance to do that this time, because I'm not gonna argue about it any further! Ha!  
"Whatever, watch your Puke… I mean, Pokémon. I've got better things to do."  
With that, I marched off to my room, feeling quite tempted to throw the nearest hard object at my brother's face - but since that object happened to be my dad's bulky laptop, I quickly dismissed it.  
Back in my room, I saw that my friend was still sleeping quite soundly. Usually being the last to rise in the morning, I felt this scenario to be downright peculiar.  
Leaning over his face, I gave him a few soft taps to his cheeks. "Hey, Gaara! Wakey, wakey! Breakfast's ready! And my bro happens to be eatin' it! Wakey, wakey!"  
Opening his eyes and smacking my hands away, he grumbled, "Don't do that."  
"Why's everyone being so mean to me this morning? Sheesh!"  
"What time is it?" he asked, ignoring my whining.  
"Nearly 6, your Royal Majesty," I teased pointing at the clock just behind his head.  
Pretending he still couldn't see it, he proceeded to get ready himself.

v-v

"Man, I can't believe in a few minutes I'll be reading out that speech in front of everybody! I need some orange soda!"  
"We don't have time for that," was my friend's calm response, sounding rather amused with how panicky I was being.  
"I wonder if I should try picturing everyone in their underwear?" I thought out loud, effectively halting Gaara in his steps, which caused me to smack my face into his back.  
"Hey, why'd you stop?" I asked rubbing my sore cheek.  
"What did you just say?"  
"I said, 'Hey, why'd you stop?'"  
"Before that!" he snapped in annoyance.  
"Oh, _that_ part! Well, they say if you do that you just might start laughing. At least, that's what I heard."  
"Where do you hear these things?" Gaara asked, running a hand through his (perfect) locks.  
"TV, books, magazines, comics, internet," I began, counting them down on my fingers.  
"I get the idea," he mumbled.  
Before I could throw a witty and sarcastic remark at him, I saw a bunch of kids sitting on the steps leading up to the school, chattering away happily.  
"Ooh, there's Naruto and Lee!" I said pointing and running to them.  
"Good morning, Gaara, Claire," said Lee in his polite voice.  
"S'up, guys!" I greeted back, aiming a friendly punch at Naruto's shoulder.  
I expected a similar greeting from him in return, but he didn't seem to have even acknowledged that I was there. Actually, looking closely, he was staring at something or someone. Turning round and looking in the same direction he was, I saw a pretty pink-haired girl talking to a couple of brunette girls.  
"So, like, which of those ladies are you gawking at, lover boy?"  
"I'm not gawking!" he finally said.  
"Please! I'm surprised she hasn't burst into flames yet!"  
"No way, not my Sakura!" he replied, his voice sounding really lovey and stuff.  
"Excuse me, but Miss Sakura is not yours," intervened Lee.  
"Well, she's not yours, either!" challenged Naruto, the two boys aiming rather ferocious looks at each other.  
"This is real fascinating and all, but I could really use some…"  
I was interrupted when I felt someone clinging to my back, and I jumped in shock. Turning my face a bit, I noticed a really cute blonde girl trying to conceal her face against my jacket.  
"Girl, give me some personal space, why don't ya?"  
"I was just saying the same thing to that stupid Mist! Why won't he leave me alone already!" the girl cried in exasperation.  
Just as I was about to ask, I heard someone say, "You can't escape from our love, my little Ino-chan!"  
"Gotta run!" the girl named Ino said as she fled.  
"Mist, why must you always be such a clown?" a feminine voice asked the strange boy.  
"You shouldn't speak to your big brother like that, ya know?"  
Turning my eyes, I saw a goofy black-haired boy walking alongside a really short redhead girl. Hm… Was it just me, or was Gaara looking at the girl a little too closely? It had better be just me.  
"Oh hiya, Naruto and Lee! Ya seen my Ino-chan anywhere?" Mist asked, running his fingers through his extremely long ponytail.  
"Yeah, she ran away screaming that way!" Naruto chortled.  
"Hey, you must be the new kid we were waitin' for!" the strange boy said to me.  
"Uh, yeah…" I said in a lazy drawl. Egh, why was Gaara still staring at that girl? I bet she wasn't even a natural redhead!  
"Mist, at your service!" came the boy's greeting, not noticing my frustration. "And that there is my baby half-sister, Young, whom my man Gaara had better stop staring at before I make him see stars!"  
All of this was said in one deep breath, and next thing I knew, Gaara was staring at his feet, seeming to debate whether he should keep his mouth shut or take Mist up on his challenge. Thankfully, he chose the former of the two.  
"It's official. Men are insane!" I said to no one in particular, and went to join up with the Sakura girl and her two friends.  
"Oh, hello there," she greeted in a friendly voice. She was taller than me by just a few inches, and her green eyes looked extremely upbeat. Her hair went just past her shoulders, which was kept back neatly with a blue hair-band.  
"Hiya!" joined in the taller of the brunettes.  
"I'm Sakura, pleased to meet you."  
"Sari here!"  
"Um, and I'm Matsuri."  
"Well, hello to all of ya. The name's Claire, but I'd rather you called me Cat," I said randomly.  
"Why 'Cat'?" asked Sari curiously, giving her bandana a small tug.  
"Cuz my godparents named me Anne and Tracey, so adding those initials to my first name forms Cat."  
"So everyone calls ya 'Cat'?  
"Uh, well, no… But there's no time like the present."  
Speaking of the present, the huge doors suddenly opened, and we started making our way inside.  
That's when things started to go spectacularly wrong.

v-v

"Yay! Vending-machine!" I cheered.  
"Let me guess, orange soda, right?" Naruto asked.  
"Cute, real cute," I mumbled rummaging in my bag and triumphantly fishing out my wallet. Not noticing that something had fallen by my backpack, I tossed 2 quarters in the machine.  
No sooner had the bottle of sweet bubbly goodness fallen down from its compartment that I was swigging it down at record speed.  
"Let's go, already! I sure hope you mentioned me in your speech!" Naruto said tugging at my sleeves.  
"Maybe I have, maybe I haven't," I said back, trying to find my speech as we were walking down the corridor. I froze on the spot when I failed. Tossing the bag on the floor, I practically shoved my head inside and still couldn't find it.  
"What are you doing? Don't tell me you forgot to bring it with you," came Gaara's voice next to me.  
Ggh, bloody cheek! Why doesn't he just go back to staring at that Young chick instead of patronizing me!  
"I didn't forget to bring it, you numbskull!" I growled as I let everything tumble out of my schoolbag.  
"Ooh, you brought comics with you! Good call!" the blonde said in blissful ignorance.  
"Well, we can clearly see it's not here," the redhead said. Okay, if he says just one more thing, I'm going to slap him so hard his great-great-great-great-great-grandparents will be the ones seeing stars!  
"You know, there's a saying that goes, if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all! So do me a favor; if you're going to be jerk, be it somewhere else!"  
Looking back at him, I felt extremely guilty almost instantly. He looked like I'd smacked him with my words alone.  
"Sorry, Gaara. I swear I didn't mean that," I quickly said, putting everything back in place.  
"I got an idea!" Naruto suddenly said.  
"Naruto, are you trying to get her in detention on her first day?" demanded Lee.  
"That's low, Lee!"  
"Maybe I should just wing it…" I mumbled.  
"Hey, that was what I was gonna say!"  
I sighed. It's not like I had any other choice.

v-v

"Ah, so nice of you to _finally_ join us, boys," a blonde woman said, smiling sweetly (and dangerously) at my friends, who looked like they might just crumble under her wrath.  
Obeying her silent command, they went to their seats, not missing the giggles coming from most of the girls.  
"Come over here, then…"  
"But, ma'am, I have a problem," I began in a terrified voice. This lady looked so scary; even though she looked like she could easily pass for a supermodel, she also looked like she could melt steel simply by looking at it.  
"You have nothing prepared?" she asked, giving me that icy smile and scary glint.  
"Yes… uh, no… Um, I… did write it, but…"  
"Speak clearly!"  
"I wrote it, I swear, but I think…"  
"You left it at home, eh?"  
Twiddling my fingers together I found myself unable to defend myself against her. Winging it didn't seem like such a good idea anymore. Not that it was a good idea in the first place, but since it was all I had…  
"Ma'am, I have an interesting idea," said a mild-mannered woman.  
"Let's hear it, Shizune," she demanded, crossing her arms. (whoa, this woman is really busty!)  
"Instead of a speech, why don't we just have a Q&A session?"  
"Hm, yes. Why not?" Turning to me, she barked, "Well? What are you waiting for, girl! Step in front of your fellow students!"  
"Y-yes, Ms. Boo… er, I mean, Ms. Breas…! Ms. Lady, ma'am!"  
"You heard Shizune, children. Ask your questions, and avoid any idiocy," she warned, her stare seeming to linger on Naruto longer than anyone else's.  
Almost immediately, everyone's hands shot up. Ugh, I feel like the sideshow freak!  
"Yes, Sari?"  
Said girl was practically bouncing on her chair as she asked, "Who's your favorite superhero?"  
"Spider-Man," I answered, tucking my hands in my pockets.  
"Oh, go on! Captain America can beat his butt any time of the day!" interjected Mist.  
"Quiet, boy! You'll speak when I give you permission to do so!" She then switched her gaze to a lazy-looking girl with peach-pink hair. "Go on, Tayuya."  
"Who would you label as the sexiest man alive?"  
"Gee, that's a tough one. I can never seem to decide. But I think I can safely say that I'd put all my money on Will Smith."  
So it went on like that for the next half hour; people asking me about music, movies, games, guys, etc. To be honest, I didn't find anyone's questions all that interesting or even clever, that is until the final question came.  
"What does the word 'friend' mean to you?"  
"Finally, a good question! You lot can learn a thing or two from Gaara!" the woman (Tsunade) said.  
This earned my friend an arsenal of glares from most of the other students, with some of them mumbling, "teacher's pet," under their breaths.  
Tapping my chin, I began to ponder how I should answer this.  
"Welp, Gaara, here's what I think. To me, a friend is someone who's always honest with you, no matter what, and someone who always has your back, no matter what. A lot like you, actually." (hey, I couldn't resist)  
"Well put, well put," then, "All right, everyone! Back to work! Back to work! We're already behind schedule for the day!"  
Rubbing my forehead in relief, I all but floated to the desk that had been reserved for me.

v-v

2 excruciatingly boring Math lessons later, in which I got no special treatment whatsoever for being the new student and all, the students were piling up in the cafeteria for lunch. My Kingdom for a hundred bottles of orange soda…  
As I was putting in some loose change into the machine I felt a tap on my back.  
"I'll be only a minute," I said without turning round.  
As I was entering the numbers on the machine, the tapping came again.  
"Don't rush me!" I snapped as I entered the last digit.  
At the last insistent tap, I blew a gasket. "Now see here, you…!" I swallowed my tongue when I saw that the person poking me was none other than that Meno girl.  
"I think this is yours," she smirked, holding my thought-lost speech between her thumb and index finger.  
"My speech! Where d'ya find it?" I demanded, making a grab for it. She pulled back easily.  
"Right there, where you're standing."  
D'oh! I can't believe I didn't think of retracing my steps to here!  
"Yes, well, don't expect me to thank you or anything," I remarked with my nose held in the air.  
"Of course not. I have a better plan in mind, anyway," she said evilly, giving the back of the pages a delicate flick.  
Oh no…  
Play dumb, Claire. Just play dumb!  
"I have no idea what you're talking about."  
"Then I'll read it to you and refresh your memory," she said, clearing her throat.  
"'I can honestly say that Gaara is just about the most gorgeous and sweetest boy I've ever met in my entire life. The times I've spent with him were the most fun I've ever had with anyone.' Hmph, you sure have bad tastes, to say the least."  
I kept my head down, my cheeks burning red. I was practically restraining myself from pouncing on her and ripping every strand of her hair from her fluff-filled head.  
"You're not really going to show that to the other students! Are you?"  
"Depends on you, really," she said, her voice filled with hate.  
"Whatever it'll take to keep your mouth shut," I muttered and quickly ran off. I wasn't going to be able to restrain myself for much longer.

v-v

"What's with you? You look like you've seen a ghost!" said Naruto while stuffing his mouth with food.  
'Yeah, a ghost with blue eyes and a really awful hairdo…'  
"Mind your business," was all I managed to say, taking a tiny bite of my egg-salad sandwich.  
"You do seem a little pale," put in Lee.  
"Hello! I'm always pale!" I grumbled, tossing the rest of my sandwich on its tray, appetite completely gone.  
"Are you all right?" joined in Gaara.  
'No…'  
"Never better."  
"Mind if I join you guys?" suddenly came the blonde girl from earlier, squishing herself between Gaara and myself.  
"Mist still chasing after your heart?" Naruto teased.  
"He's a hopeless goof! The only good thing he can actually do is play the piano, but that's certainly not enough for me," she said.  
"Where is he now?"  
"I don't care! As long as he didn't see me come here!"  
Before I could join in the conversation, someone poked me on top of my head.  
I knew who it was without even needing to look up. The hateful glares that the others were aiming behind me pretty much confirmed it anyway.  
Best to just get on and be done with it…

v-v

"Have you officially lost your mind? Why did you let Meno order you about like that?"  
'I didn't see you object in any way!' I wanted to snap at them all. They all asked me the same thing in their own way. As if it hadn't been enough that that stupid cow made me do all those humiliating and even degrading things… Their patronization was the last thing I needed.  
"Say, Gaara? Can I come over? I could really speak to Granny Nadia right now," I said, my voice sounding really pitiful to my ears.  
"I suppose…"  
"Hey, no fair! If she's going, I'm going too!" Naruto interrupted, looking really insulted.  
Well, I do owe Gaara a lot for this…  
"Oh no! There's Sakura kissing some other guy behind your back!" I shouted out.  
"What? How dare some poser try to steal away my Sakura!" Naruto screamed, running off in search for his enemy that didn't exist.  
"No! Miss Sakura!" Lee bellowed, ready to fight for his love and joining Naruto in the grand chase.  
"Let's go before they catch on," I mumbled tugging at his hands.

v-v

"Blackmailed, eh?" said Granny, taking a sip of her tea.  
"Yeah. Do you think you could give me some old-worldly advice or something? I don't know who else to turn to."  
"This reminds me of the time my sworn enemy, Gertrude, tried to pull the same stunt on me when I was just a wee thing."  
"What did you do?" I asked in a hopeful voice.  
"My father found out about the whole thing and threatened to snap her neck like a twig," she said casually.  
"So… I should tell my dad and ask him to snap her neck like a twig?"  
"No, no. What you should do is find some embarrassing secret that _she_ is hiding and use that against her."  
"In other words, I should try blackmailing her like she's doing to me now?"  
"You should, but you really don't look like you're capable of that," she said.  
"Just as well. Blackmailing is wrong, even if she happens to be the most evil, vile, repulsive cow that ever lived." This isn't working at all. "You know what? I feel that I should try and handle this on my own. Thanks anyway, Granny."  
As I tried to make my way around to Gaara's room, I began to feel the downside of living in such a huge house. No way was I going to be able to find it in this maze!  
"Say, who are you?" someone suddenly asked.  
Turning round, I found myself face to face with Gaara's old man.  
"You! I have a few choice words to say to you!"  
"Uh, have we even met before?" he asked cluelessly.  
"Technically, we have. First of all, how dare you act so mean towards Gaara? I oughta have kicked your butt there and then!"  
"Hey, hey, hey! What the hell are you accusing me of here? I'd never do anything bad to my little bro!" he said furiously.  
"Oh, yeah right…! Wait, 'little bro'?"  
"Yeah, who did you think I was?"  
Having calmed down some, I began to note the differences between this boy and the man I mistook him for. For one thing, he looked much younger. For another, he didn't hold that super-cold look in his eyes like that old coot did. In fact, he looked really hotheaded.  
"Uh, I seem to have mistaken you for your old man… But in my defense, you do look a lot like him…"  
"You just made my day," he replied sarcastically. "So, who are you again?"  
"Just a friend of Gaara's. The name's Claire. Pleased to meetcha," I said attempting to get on his good side.  
"Well, where _is_ Gaara?" he asked.  
"Beats me. I was just talking to Granny. I was hoping she could help me with something."  
"You actually tried to get advice from Grandma?" he snorted. "Oh, to be so naïve!"  
"Tell me about it…" I muttered, folding my hands behind my head and bobbing on my feet. "Would you just point out the way to his room?"  
"Let me guess. You've got the hots for him, haven't ya?" the brunette asked with a devilish smirk, making my face turn a bright pink. I can't be THAT obvious… can I? N'ah! He was only trying to get a strong reaction out of me!  
"I most certainly do not. You should see us fight all the time," was my comeback. Ha! Take that, Gaara's brother!  
"Eh? That doesn't really sound like him."  
"It's true. Ask anyone."  
"Then why are you blushing?" he pointed out.  
Oh, yeah… How am I going to explain that? Ah, who cares? It's none of his business, anyway!  
"Look, I love playing 20 Questions as much as the next person, but either you tell me which way Gaara's room is or I'll just find it myself," I grumbled.  
"Jeez, you're nearly as testy as Temari. You'll get along with her just fine, that's for sure," he muttered as he led me down a lengthy corridor.  
Boy, we're off to a fine start. Just as I began to ponder why this bigmouth was Gaara's hero, said bigmouth opened up a familiar door and let himself in. Looking through the doorway I was relieved to see it was indeed his room, but annoyed to find he wasn't present.  
"I can't believe it. That bocciagalupe totally ditched me! He said he'd be here…"  
"What the hell is a 'bocciagalupe'?" the brown-haired teen asked.  
"Beats me," I replied, dumping my bag on his bed. I plopped down on its soft mattress and tossed off my shoes.  
"I'm just gonna go look for him then. What are you gonna do?" he asked. (why can't I remember his name? Fancy him not even telling me when I introduced myself to him)  
"I'll just wait for him here. Then I'll give him a piece of my mind," I offered.  
"Now when you said you fight all the time, do you initiate them? 'Cause it sure sounds that way."  
Practically feeling steam shooting out of my ears, I grabbed both my shoes and aimed them at his head, but they smashed into the now-closed door just in time.  
'Hmph! Stupid prat!'  
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, I opened up my backpack and fished out an X-Men comic book. (I still can't believe my older brother let me borrow them, provided I mailed them back to him, of course)  
A half hour later I'd finished reading it, and Gaara _still_ hadn't turned up.  
'Man, I'm so bored!'  
I hopped off the bed and tried to open the cupboard in which he kept that sophisticated hi-fi system, but was frustrated when I found it to be locked. (hey, that reminds me. My dad's CD is still in there!)  
"I can't believe he has a room this huge and it has no TV and gaming systems! The guy is completely missing the point of having a large bedroom like this!" I thought out loud (way loud).  
Suddenly, I had the urge to have a peek in his closet, the one he'd shoved me in the other day. Opening it gingerly, my eyes were treated to the finest clothes I'd ever seen, made out of the softest materials I'd ever felt.  
'Do I dare?' I thought with a giggle.  
Making a quick dash to the door, I looked from one side and then the other, pleased that no one was in sight. With a satisfied nod, I ran back to the closet and grabbed the first outfit my hands landed on.

v-v

Boy, changing into the outfit I was wearing now had actually been a really tricky feat. It was even more complicated than it already looked. Giving one of the clasps for the dark purple breastplate a final triumphant tug, I gave a twirl in front of the mirror.  
"Hi, ladies! I love you all, cuz I'm Gaara! Now, run along and get me some orange soda, cuz I'm Gaara and I love orange soda!" I babbled to my reflection.  
Making a run for my bag to get my cellphone (I just HAD to take a picture of this and show Naruto. Boy, will he laugh!), I tripped on the red leggings and landed painfully on my backside.  
Straightening back up, I rolled them up as much as I could around my ankles, which wasn't an easy task, as the sleeves kept on rolling down way past my hands.  
"What do you think you're doing now?" came the unexpected question, asked in a dangerously soft voice.  
I turned around to face my redheaded friend, who seemed to be torn between looking annoyed or downright baffled.  
Rubbing the back of my head with one covered hand, I sheepishly said, "Uh, sorry. I got bored."  
"And you wear people's best clothes when you're bored, do you?" he said again in that frighteningly soft voice, effectively making himself look pretty intimidating when he crossed his arms over his chest.  
"What are you talking about? What you're wearing now looks exactly like this!" I shot defensively, first poking one clasp on his clothes, then another on mine. "Anyhow, I'd do the same for you!"  
"You'd let me borrow your clothes? I'm touched," Gaara said oh-so sarcastically.  
Good grief; I knew he most likely wouldn't laugh when he saw me like this, but did he have to act like a total brat?  
"Man, what is your problem? Don't you have _any_ sense of humor at all?" I groused and slammed the door open.  
"We're not finished here. Where do you think you're going?" his royal pain in the neck demanded.  
"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm gonna go get some orange soda. Maybe have another nice chat with Granny. I'll bet you my entire gaming collection she'll say I look great in this outfit, so…" I stuck out my tongue, resisting the huge urge I got to blow a raspberry at him, and, "NYAH!"  
Things moved really fast from there, and before I even knew what had happened, we'd pounced on each other and were rolling around the floor like a couple of lunatics. Using his superior size to his advantage, he succeeded more than easily in pinning me down on my tummy, holding both my wrists tightly behind my back with one hand.  
"Oh, yeah? Let's see you have any kids in the near future, you jackass!"  
With that, I lifted my foot up and smashed it as hard as I could into his gut, knocking the wind right out of him. Unfortunately for me, he still kept his firm grip on my hands.  
"You're lucky I missed! I was aiming for your woohoo spot!"  
"Listen here, you bi-!"  
"All right, that's enough out of you both!" a female voice scolded as we were forcefully separated.  
At first, I thought it might have been that Temari chick, but the new voice sounded too soft in comparison. Turning my furious glare at the newcomer, my eyes met with the gentle gaze of a kindly-looking woman with shoulder-length, light-brown wavy hair and really fair skin.  
"Well? Either of you care to explain yourselves?" she beckoned softly, aiming a rather disappointed look at Gaara, who suddenly found his shoes to be really interesting. When he said nothing, she changed her focus on me, still looking quite stern.  
"Uh, see… W-what happened was… We were… just… rum-rehearsing… for the… er, Christmas Play! Yeah, that's it!"  
"Really?"  
"Yeah, we're… um, the villains, who are… also in love with the same woman."  
"You're playing a man?" she asked in intrigue.  
"It's outrageous and insulting, but the show must go on. It was a last-minute decision," I mumbled in as convincing a voice as I could muster. "Isn't that right, Gaara?" I continued in a falsely cheerful voice, urging him to play along.  
"That's exactly it," was all he managed to say, unable to face the woman.  
"Oh, how fun! I can't wait to see your performance! You kids!" she giggled, giving my ex-friend an affectionate pat on the cheek, then walked off.  
"Phew! I can't believe she bought…" I began, but was met with his door slamming behind my back. "…it…"  
Giving the door a tentative tap with my knuckle, still covered by the too-long sleeve, I attempted, "We should talk it over later. Like, I didn't wear your clothes to annoy you or anything. I really did get bored."  
Nothing…  
"Um, I'm also really sorry about my childish reaction, and I didn't mean to call you a jackass, really."  
Still nothing…  
"So yeah, even if you don't forgive me," my voice shook a little then (hey, at least I wasn't crying), I still think you're the coolest guy in the world."  
'I might as well be talking to a wall,' I thought with a sad sigh.

v-v

After my fifteen-minute-long conversation with Gaara's door, Granny Nadia took me under her wing.  
"He's not really upset with you, dearie," she said in her grandmotherly voice. "He always gets like this when that yutz has one of those talks with him."  
"Still, did he have to act so mean? He jumped me for sticking out my tongue at him for Heaven's sake," I whispered just loud enough for her to hear.  
"Did he now? Who knew my Gaara had such spunk?"  
"That wasn't spunky so much as painful. The guy's really heavy!" I whined, trying to win her back to my side.  
"I know exactly what'll take your mind off things!"  
"You mean my thoughts of having been blackmailed on my first day at school, and losing a really good friend? Do you have a fridge-load of orange soda and chocolate ice-cream?"  
"Even better. I'm taking you shopping. Wherever you want to go, we'll go," she grinned, giving her beaded purse a tap.  
"What? Like this?" I asked, waving my hands and tickling Granny's face with the cuffs of the long sleeves.  
"Why not? You look so adorable. In a bizarre sort of way."  
How come I didn't feel any better?  
"Gee, thanks."

v-v

"So, tell me exactly why this girl is blackmailing you," Granny beckoned across me.  
After I'd managed to convince her that I loathed shopping for clothes (apparently she'd never heard of a girl hating such a thing), we went to the same coffeehouse that Gaara and I had frequented the other day. At first, I really didn't want to go there, somehow feeling really uncomfortable with the idea, but Granny was really keen on going there, so…  
'At least that moron Dawn isn't here.'  
"Kiddo, did you hear me?" the old woman asked again.  
"Sorry, I zoned out for a sec. But I can't tell you why she is blackmailing me. It's really personal," I said, quickly putting my fork in my mouth and savouring the delicious flavor of the chocolate-cheesecake.  
"You should know you can never keep a secret from this old lady for long. I'll have the answer out of you in three quick questions," she said confidently.  
"I doubt it, but go ahead."  
"Okay, question 1: How are you liking your new life here so far?"  
"It's really fun. There's never a dull moment for me around here, that's for certain."  
"Fascinating. Question 2: Have you ever been to Washington?"  
"Nope, but I've always wanted to see the White House up close."  
"I see. Question 3: How many fingers am I holding up?" she finished, putting up four fingers.  
"Uh… 4?"  
"Good. Now, give me a minute." She closed her eyes and took a sip of her coffee. Then, "You have the hots for my Gaara and you don't want anybody to know," she said with a triumphant look on her face.  
I was about to deny it, as I'd done for about the hundredth time, but my face was burning so hotly, not even an amoeba would be convinced. I opted to demand how she figured something like that out just by asking me those ridiculous questions.  
"Oh, I just threw those in to mess with you," she said casually, "Anyone can really tell how you feel. Why else would you be so upset about that last squabble of yours?"  
"I told you, already. He's a good friend."  
"Even so, one wouldn't be looking like a little lost puppy just because of a fight," she insisted. "And why else did you suddenly feel like wearing his clothes?"  
"Like I told him, I was bored."  
"You kids certainly have funny ways of entertaining yourselves these days."  
"Can we please go back? I REALLY wanna apologize to him. I mean to his face, not to his door."  
"Heh heh, whatever you say, dearie," she chuckled.

v-v

"You didn't!" Naruto exclaimed in absolute wonderment.  
"I did too!" I said proudly.  
"You really wore Gaara's clothes?" Lee joined in, having taken a break from his press-up exercises.  
"I sure did. Boy, were they comfy," I sighed without realizing my voice had gone all swoony and dreamy.  
"But you guys didn't really fight? Physically, I mean."  
"Yah, and he started it. Remind me not to get on his bad side again, 'kay?" I laughed half-heartedly, rubbing my rather sore wrists.  
"I'm gonna call him right now and really give him what for! Didn't his mama ever teach him not to strike a lady!" Naruto yelled, lightning practically shooting out of his eyes.  
"He didn't hit me! Don't be a doofus!"  
It was bad enough that Gaara still refused to acknowledge my apologies (at least he was nice enough to let me change into my own clothes and give me back my stuff), I definitely didn't need Naruto to baby me as well.  
"But your wrists are so red!" the blonde said angrily; even Lee looked rather disapproving.  
"He's got a strong grip, what can I tell ya? Anyways, you shoulda seen how I kicked him back! Right in the kisser I did!"  
"I can't believe he reacted like such a prat just cuz you wore his clothes…" Naruto mumbled like he no longer knew who his friend was.  
"Well, Granny Nadia said he was especially on edge today because of his jerk-wad of a father," I said, my voice becoming most defensive. I couldn't care less if he ever forgave me or not, but I wasn't going to have anyone talk about Gaara like that.  
"Still…"  
"Just forget about it. Let's have a round of Tekken."  
"You're on!"  
As the blue-eyed boy went to look for the game in his clustered mess of a room, and Lee went back to his exercises, I took a glance at the couch. I remembered when I was first invited over and how stunned I'd been when I'd seen Gaara do his homework considering it was a Friday night. I snickered at the memory of when the storm had first hit, and I'd clung on to him like my life had depended on it.  
'Shucks. I sure hope he forgives me eventually.'  
"I couldn't find it. But I _did_ find Street Fighter Alpha 3, look!" he bragged with a goofy grin.  
"Great, I can't wait to kick your butt with Ken!"  
"Good luck, since Ryu is tons better!"  
"What are you talking about? Ken rules!"  
"Ken's a poser! Ryu's the man!"  
"In your dreams, Ken!"  
"No, in _your_ dreams, Ryu!"  
"Ken!"  
"Ryu!"  
"Ken!"  
"Ryu!"  
"Uh, is it just me, or am I getting this really strong feeling of déjà vu?" I asked, grabbing one of the controllers.  
"That depends. What's déjà vu?" he said innocently.  
"Never mind, let's go for broke!" I challenged, mimicking the announcer of the game.  
"Right! Triumph or die!" he joined in happily.

v-v

"Man… Math is so lame!" I grumbled and tossed my math book over my shoulder.  
"I second that!" Naruto agreed and mimicked my action.  
"It's not due for tomorrow anyhow. Let's go play some more," I said as I put my reading glasses in its case.  
"You sure know how to speak my language! You should totally move in with us!" he exclaimed with a whoop.  
On the way, we began arguing on which _Muppets_ character is better (I said Gonzo, he said the Swedish Chef); our mouths opened as wide as they could go when we saw who happened to be sitting on the couch talking to Lee.  
"GAARA! I GOT SOMETHIN' TO SAY TO YOU!" Naruto bellowed at the top of his lungs, making my ears throb.  
Grabbing onto said loud boy's shoulder, I warned, "First of all, no one around here is deaf. Second of all, I told you to leave it alone."  
He chose to ignore my words, pulled me by the sleeve of my pink shirt and dragged me to the other two boys.  
"Show him!" he shouted.  
"Quit yelling in my ear, you twit!" I said in annoyance.  
"Show him, or I will!" he threatened. Ugh, why is it that there are days when no one seems to listen?  
"Make me!" I challenged.  
Naruto proved to me there and then you should never judge a person simply by how they look, for he turned out to be much stronger than I'd first thought. Before long, he had one of my sleeves rolled up to my elbow, and was pointing furiously at the red wrist.  
"All right, already! Let's drop it! It doesn't even hurt!"  
"Could you give us a little privacy?" was Gaara's soft question.  
"Nope! What you have to say to me, you can say in front of Naruto and Lee," I said before either boy could answer. Naruto looked quite pleased with that, but Lee looked rather uncomfortable and flustered.  
"Oh, I just remembered I had something important to finish!" Lee said feebly. "Come and help me, Naruto!"  
Without any room for further argument, the blonde was forcibly pulled back, and the door to his room was hurriedly closed, muffling Naruto's rather crude language.  
"Lee, you backstabber!" I griped shaking my fist in the direction of Naruto's room.  
Since the red-haired boy seemed to find the carpeting most fascinating and wouldn't say a word, I figured I might as well break the silence. Folding my arms behind my head, I said, "Looks like you got your wish, so say something."  
"You forgot this," he said holding out one hand in front of me, in which was my dad's CD.  
I gave him a really blank look.  
"That's it? You came here for _that_?" I didn't even try to hide my sheer disappointment from my voice.  
"TELL HIM OFF!" came Naruto's muffled scream.  
"Hold on a sec," I said to Gaara in a sing-song voice, then marched to the door, pulled it open to reveal a surprised Naruto, and finally slammed it shut again.  
"OW!"  
"Stop listening in!" I shouted in front of the door, then ran and plopped down on the couch. "You were saying?"  
"Grandma said you were really upset," he attempted.  
"And I thought I did such a fine job in hiding it," I said, then added, "You're not the only person who can use sarcasm around here."  
Yet again, he closed up completely and said nothing more.  
'This is really tricky…'  
Naruto's door suddenly burst open and he was standing in front of the slightly taller teen in a matter of seconds. "Apologize to her already! She apologized like a hundred times to you, so what the heck are you waiting for?"  
"Argh! Both of you are making my head hurt! I'm gonna go get some orange soda!"  
"We're out," the blonde said matter-of-factly, "You drank it all."  
"Oh… Whoops…"  
"Well, what are you waiting for? Apologize!" the blue-eyed one scolded, aiming a not-so-friendly hard punch at the redhead's shoulder, which earned him a flinch from the other teen.  
"Don't be a jerk, Naruto!" I said with a furious glare.  
"Hey! I'm defending you!" he shouted, looking really offended.  
"And like Gaara said, we want a little privacy," I threw at him, and without waiting for a response, I grabbed ahold of the red-haired one's arm and pulled him outside with me.  
'Men…'

v-v

_Crunch… Crunch…_  
'Sheesh! Why won't he say anything? This is so troublesome!'  
_Crunch… Crunch…_  
'Well, if he isn't going to talk, then I'm not going to either!'  
_Crunchy… Crunchity…_  
'Ignore… Ignore… Orange soda, ice-cream, candy, games… Oh, forget it!'  
"Please, say something! Anything! You're driving me absolutely crazy!" I finally bellowed in a really loud voice, earning me some worried glances from passers-by; like they matter.  
Chancing a sideways look at him, I was disappointed when I saw him still staring at the snow beneath our feet without really seeing it. His legs were pretty much just carrying him forward whilst I guided him with one arm linked around his and the other tucked under my jacket.  
"Sure is a cold evening," was my attempt at starting a casual conversation.  
A tiny, soft sigh was my only indication that he was actually walking with me. His mind was another story; I'm fairly certain that if I were to let go of his arm, he'd keep on walking aimlessly until he crashed into something.  
_Crunch… Crunchies…_  
"Let's stop at that cute coffeehouse just round the corner. I could use some hot chocolate right about now."  
Still he offered no response, so I decided to take that as a possible maybe and led the way.  
As I pushed the door open, there came the pretty sound of a little bell and we were greeted with the sight of lively Christmas decorations, the delicious smell of fresh coffee and tea, and Mr. John Lennon's _Happy 'Xmas_ playing gently in the background.  
Finding a nice little table next to the window, I was more than happy to plop myself on the cozy chair, my friend being more graceful about it.  
After the waiter had placed two steaming mugs of hot chocolate in front of us and left, Gaara opened his mouth as if he were about to say something. I held my breath in anticipation, then sighed in annoyance when he closed it again. He caught my attention when he discreetly waved his arm around him and looked at the other, happier, patrons.  
"Hm… It's either here or your place. I left everything, including my keys, at Naruto's place, and I have a good feeling he's not gonna be letting us in for a while."  
"How will you get home?"  
I almost choked on a tiny marshmallow at the sound of his soft voice. Phew, at last!  
With a light smack (more like a tap, really) to his cheek, I managed, "Don't you ever stay silent like that again, mister! You had me worried sick!"  
"Sorry?" he tried whilst trying to hide his face behind his cup.  
Granted it wasn't the apology I'd been looking for, but I was so glad to hear him talk again that I really didn't care anymore. I was just happy to have him back.  
'Still, I _am_ curious.'  
"What did that ev… man say to you, anyhow? Musta been really bad."  
"It's nothing that concerns you," he said, becoming defensive.  
"Did you see yourself only a few minutes ago? Not to mention back at your house?" His face reddening just a tiny bit I continued, "You just can't keep all that always locked up inside. Not healthy, ya know? 'Sides, I'm your pal! What troubles you troubles me also."  
Nodding curtly, he offered, "I will tell you what's troubling me if you do the same."  
"Eh? What makes you think something's troubling me?"  
"Why else would you go anywhere near Meno?" he answered with a question of his own.  
"All right, fine. Deal. Go ahead," I beckoned. For a moment, he looked like he was about to close into himself again, so I took ahold of both his clenched fists and stroked them gently.

v-v

Twenty minutes and two cups of tea later saw me using all the willpower I possessed not to let out a string of curses against Gaara's scum father.  
From what he was willing to tell me, his old man was always critical of him - never seeing the good that he does, but rather what he's unable to do; always pointing out every single mistake in a discouraging manner, contrary to what a parent would normally do for their child. He was also very strict with him and would constantly show his disapproval if Gaara so much as stepped an inch over the line.  
Today's latest talk apparently had something to do with my friend refusing to involve himself in any way with their family business, which didn't sit well with the old coot; that horrible man had even said something about disowning his own son! Wait till I tell Granny about this!  
"Sheesh, no wonder Granny Nadia hates him," I said carelessly.  
He gave me a disapproving glare, but it looked really forced.  
"Well?" was all he actually said.  
"Well, what?" I said back, though I knew where this was going. He also knew that I knew, so I had no choice but to keep my end of the bargain.  
"Uh, yeah. It's a kinda funny story, actually." His frown pretty much told me he wasn't having any of that. "See, Meno found out a really personal secret about me, so, since she's Meno, she's threatened to tell everyone unless I do what she asks. Pretty funny, huh?"  
Gaara's hands tightly clenching his cup to the point that they were shaking and his suddenly really stiff breathing practically said that he wasn't amused at all. Then…  
**SLAM!  
**The cup now lay in pieces under his still-trembling palms and he was starting to vacate his seat.  
"Hey, where are you going!" I demanded.  
"I'm going to kill her with my bare hands!"  
Whoa; that was the first time ever since I'd met him that I saw him raise his voice, and I have to admit it made me really uncomfortable. He looked so angry, just plain seething, his entire body was trembling uncontrollably.  
'I know! I'll do what they always do in the movies!'  
With that, I quickly stepped in front of him and slapped him hard across the face.  
"Did it work? Do you still want to kill Meno?"  
He looked like he was calming down a little but, looking at the red mark on his cheek, I felt absolutely awful.  
"Sorry about that. I panicked."  
Suddenly, I noticed that every single patron and the staff members were looking at us. Like this, they must have thought we were in a violent argument or something. This was confirmed when a plump waiter came to our table and asked us, none too nicely, to leave.  
Intertwining my fingers with his, we quickly did just that.  
"Oh well, look on the bright side," I began, not wanting another bout of awkward silence like before.  
"What bright side?" he mumbled, his free fingers rubbing where I'd hit him.  
"We got free coffee!"  
At first, he made no sound, but seconds later he was chuckling, a barely visible smile on his handsome face.  
"Has anyone ever told you how odd you are?"  
Tightening my hold on his hand, I answered, "Every day of my life."

End Chapter 5

Finally, FINALLY! It's done! This chapter was giving me so much trouble it's not even funny! I had 98% of it typed up and everything, but the other 2% wouldn't enter my brain no matter how hard I tried. Writer's block is the epitome of evil, I tell ya.  
The last part of this chapter did turn out fluffier and sappier than I intended. Then again, I do enjoy the sap, hee hee.  
One of the scenes with Granny Nadia was heavily inspired from _The Golden Girls_ episode entitled _Scared Straight_. Fans of the show will recognize it straight away, I'm sure.  
For those who are wondering about the brown-haired lady, yep, that was indeed Gaara's mama. Unlike his slime-bucket of an uncle, I really do feel she'd have been a very good mother to him, hence her nice nature here.  
Oh, and isn't Meno oh-so evil? I can so see Gaara wanting to kick the crap outta her! (which he can do really well in Konoha Spirits, yay!)


	7. Lessons in Friendship and More

Title: Not All as It Seems  
Warnings: Comedy here, fluff there and lengthy chapters everywhere! BEWARE! Major sap at the end! Tread at your own risk! (I like mah sap _happy smile_)  
Pairings: Gaara/Young (I'm workin' on it, slowly but surely), Tayuya/Shikamaru/Temari (what's this? Another love-triangle? Run away!), Naruto/Sakura/Lee (I love comedy love-triangles, don't you?), Naruto/Hinata (somehow) and Mist/Ino (keep tryin', mate); as I've said time and again, I'm open to requests, but first you have to review… _poke nudge_

Ah, ah! I'm so sorry about this most slow update! If it's not one thing keepin' me busy, it's another! I finally have this webpage design course out of my hair (stupid compulsory courses!), so I can at last concentrate more on writing! On toppa that, I got sick three times the very first month of the year, and am still recovering from a cold. Phew!

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I'd be extremely rich and thus I wouldn't be writing fan-fictions about its characters. Alas, I am but an (extremely) broke fan who enjoys writing and sates her craving by penning these stories.

Claimer: The character Young Valentine is mine! I created her way back in 2001, and is one out of the few OCs I created that I love, so no stealie! (borrowing is fine, as long as you ask) Granny Nadia is mine also, but was heavily inspired by the character Sophia Petrillo from _The Golden Girls_.

My Thank You Corner, er, thingy…  
DidiTwitches – your reviews always make my day, and give me the inspiration to keep working on my story. That last one was no exception! Thankies!  
J. S. Comack – welp, I had no intention on quitting on this story. Updates are admittedly slow, but there are always ideas buzzing in my head and then I have to decide what to pen and what to leave on the back burner… Still, reviews help me go that much faster, because then I know I'm writing it for readers other than myself. Thankies for you too!  
SatsurikuSajira – wow! Just when I thought that that was that for the reviews, in comes the most inspirational one possible! I'm so happy to hear that you "like my story as much as Final Fantasy". That's a big'un! Hee hee, don't you worry, I have other stuff in store for Claire. Oh boy, I do! **halo appears over head**

A/N: Upon reading one of the latest volumes translated for the Naruto manga, and the plot-twist that happened during Gaara's childhood, I've finally been able to forgive Yashamaru. I don't wanna spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it yet, but I'm sure you'll forgive him too when you do. With that being said, I sure wanna include him in the story, so watch out for him.

Fun little piece of trivia: Gaara's tattoo not only spells out "Ai" (love), but it's also the initials to his seiyuu, Akira Ishida! Isn't that neat?

Chapter 6  
Lessons in Friendship and More

9th December, 2002 (Monday)

"So anyways, there I was at the place where I was gonna be meeting the big man, when in comes this bulky maniac and shoves me aside like a sack of potatoes. 'Outta the way, little missy!' says the oaf, 'This is a man's job, and no one would hire a scrawny thing like you in a bajillion years!'  
"'Bajillion isn't even a number, you unmannerly hulk-wannabe!' I say right back. Then, he grabs me by the arm in an attempt to go for the attack, but I knee him where the sun will never shine again, hiya!  
He leaves, crying like a little baby, and then I notice the big man was there all along and had seen the whole thing.  
"'You got spunk, and fists of steel to boot! You, young lady, have got yourself a job!'  
"And that, Gaara, is how yours truly got hired to work at the bestest music store on my island! Yes, yes," I finished, giving my chest a proud thump.  
It was about an hour since we got shooed out of the coffeehouse, and I still had no means of accessing my apartment, having left everything at Naruto's place. Okay, I can admit it wasn't the smartest thing ever to go and leave the spare key on the same keychain as my house key, but hey, nobody's perfect. Plus, Gaara wasn't all that keen about going back to his place, so that option was also out.  
Be that as it may, we found ourselves at this lush, absolutely adorable little park in a rather secluded area. It was just big enough for a few rose bushes and pine trees, and this teeny little pond that was covered in lily pads. Really picturesque.  
Anyway, my friend had been sitting on the one available bench as I recounted my story about how I got a summer job last year, with a few altered details here and there. The second and only other bench was occupied by two old ladies, and they couldn't help but listen in to my tale.  
"My, my! Did you hear how that story ended, Gertha?" said the plumper of the two.  
"I sure did," answered back the more excitable one. "And serve him right, too! Why, back in my day, we used to spank hooligans like that with a hickory stick to their behinds for such chauvinistic behavior!"  
"No way! That's neat!" I played along. "Sexist pigs had nothin' on you!"  
"Indeed," was all Gaara had to say, not even bothering to hide the massive sarcasm in his voice.  
"Hm, if I didn't know any better, _young man_, I'd say you're not at all impressed by your friend's most brave actions. Shame on you!" Gertha said sternly, looking as though she wanted to thwack him with her walking stick.  
"Well, you know how men are. They're only impressed with women if they tell 'em how big, strong, handsome and manly they are; bla bla bla!" I went on, secretly thinking to myself how fun this was.  
"So very true, Gertha. So very true!"  
"Useless bums is what they are, am I right, Lilia?"  
"Uh, aren't you two married or somethin'?" I attempted, not really understanding why my redheaded buddy had dropped his head into both of his hands at my question.  
"Married!?" shrieked Gertha.  
"Us!?" followed Lilia.  
"Oh, just thinking about such nonsense would cause my poor old heart to stop beating!"  
"Please risk it," muttered Gaara, to which I gave him a really scathing look.  
"GAARA! We're supposed to revere our elders!"  
"Heh, girl's got a good head on her shoulders," Gertha smiled, tapping her friend on the foot with her stick.  
"And doesn't she just have the cutest accent you've ever heard?" went on Lilia.  
"Ya heard that, Gaara? 'The cutest accent'!" I giggled.  
"Don't we have something else we should be doing, _Claire_?" he demanded, his eyes getting that rather intimidating glint.  
"The nerve of him! You see that, Gertha? It's just as I was telling you this very morning! Men today are still trying to control their women!"  
"Yeah, what a bunch of…! Uh, his woman?"  
"You know, dear! You… **Him**…" Gertha aimed this most poisonous look at Gaara when she said "him".  
"No, no, no! There's no me and him! Not like that!" I objected, covering my flushed face with the neck of my jacket.  
"Ah, that is good. You have no need for him, am I right, Lilia?"  
"Right is what you are, Gertha!"  
Okay, at first I simply thought they were a touch eccentric, but now I saw that they were beyond feminist looney toons.  
"Um, um, my friend is right, though. We do have something we have to get taken care of. Right away!" was all I managed as I snatched him by the arm and pulled him away from the bench.  
"Oh, what a shame! Just as we were all beginning to enjoy ourselves," moaned a disappointed Gertha… or was it Lilia? Oh, well. I was never really that good with names.  
Once we were safely out of the old ladies' hearing zone, Gaara grumbled, "For someone who doesn't know how to lie, you really know how to exaggerate your stories."  
"I'll have you know that that really happened!" I interjected, poking a finger into his chest.  
"First of all, I can see your fingers crossed behind your back."  
"I had an itch! Kill me!"  
"Second of all," he continued, ignoring my remark completely, "did you have to carry on a conversation with those two lunatics?"  
"Was just trying to be polite," I said sheepishly. "I thought they were kidding about their men-hate, honest and for truly. Anyhow, you got to admit that thing about the hickory stick was funny!" With that, I began to chortle, hands resting on my knees.  
"Hmph!"  
"Tsk, a wise man in my country once said these sage words," I warned, making my voice all enigmatic and stuff.  
"What, dare I ask?"  
"Lighten up!"  
At his glare, I said defensively, "What? It's true! It was my grandpa; he's real wise and stuff, I took some joke or other too seriously, and he told me to lighten up. Get it?"  
I heaved a sigh of relief when I heard him let out the tiniest of chuckles.  
"How much of your story was true, anyway?"  
Ugh, he _had_ to ask!  
"All of it! Well, except for the guy shoving and threatening me. And there had been no kneeing whatsoever, nor have I ever been told by anyone that I got fists of steel."  
"And?"  
"And the meeting place was at my house and the big man was my dad! Now, stop harassing me!"  
"Did you really want that job?" he asked softly.  
"Heck no! I'm from sea country! I wanted to swim all day and eat ice-cream! Alas, I also really wanted a PSOne, and my parents wouldn't even hear of giving me a teeny raise on my allowance. Thus you get the boring version of my story."  
"At least it's the truth."  
"Dude, sometimes you got to embellish these things! No one wants to hear boring stories! Am I right, Gaara?"  
"You're beginning to sound like those two…" he moaned.  
"A nice bottle of orange soda just might sort me out," I tried, twiddling my fingers in front of my face.  
'No wallet, no money, no orange soda…! What a bind this is!'  
"I'm going home now," he said firmly.  
"Wait a minute, what about me?!" I demanded in outrage. "I can't go to my place, and I've already told you I can't go bothering my parents at work. They get so cranky, ya know?"  
"No one told you to up and leave everything behind at Naruto's apartment when he's angry with you, did they?"  
Eesh, did I mention I can't stand smart-alecks? Because I can't.  
"Well, excuse me if I just wanted us to be friends again! What ever was I thinking?"  
Hm, that seemed to do the trick. However, before he could answer, there came a familiarly soft feminine voice just behind us.  
"Hey, guys. What's going on?"  
I turned around to face the mystery girl, and, somehow, I managed to keep in this moan of frustration when I saw it was that redheaded chick from this morning.  
I hadn't noticed it then, but it could very well be because I'd been trying to ignore her as much as was humanly possible, but now I could see she had on this most incredible black coat. I felt so tempted to reach out and feel for myself if it was as soft as it looked. In one of her gloved hands, she was holding a rather expensive-looking violin case.  
'Oh, man! She's a musician, too! How can I compete with her?!' I inwardly whined.  
Eyeing her a little more closely, I suddenly realized that she was shorter than me. It was hardly noticeable, but it still counts, because I sure as heck noticed! She is shorter! It's a flipping miracle!  
"I knew I would triumph!"  
With my hands still raised above my head, I then noticed that the other two were looking at me as though I'd suddenly gone completely insane.  
"Er, it's a song I've had stuck in my head all day… Haven't you ever heard of the amazing '60s masterpiece called, 'I Knew I Would Triumph!'…?"  
"Mm, not really, no," the girl said ever so politely, a few strands of hair wrapped around her pinky. Then, she turned her gaze onto my friend, who suddenly seemed to find his shoes to be the neatest things ever since the invention of s'mores.  
'Mm…! S'mores…!'  
"Hello, Gaara," she greeted in a most sweet voice, "Really pretty evening, isn't it?"  
Her answer came in the form of this really strange, unintelligible sound, like a cross between a groan and a sigh. He flat-out refused to make eye-contact with her. She didn't even bat an eye at what would normally classify as sheer rudeness. It was almost as if she was pretty much used to it.  
"It gets so lonely walking to my violin class all by myself… Won't you be a gentleman and escort me just this once?" she tried again, giving her case a very delicate thump with her knuckles.  
'Say no! Say no! She's trying to tear us apart! Reject her!' I kept chanting in my head, aiming fiery daggers at her. Then, I tried to pretend not to care, and turned my attention back to the park, where the two elderly ladies were still conversing excitably between themselves.  
However, I simply couldn't ignore that rude noise he made yet again in answer to her request. Okay, I may not like her, but there was no excusing his mean attitude towards her.  
"Bless you, buddy," I said in a fake sympathetic voice, giving him a scolding smack to the shoulder.  
"Ah, well, I understand you're busy. Next time, maybe? 'Kay, bye!"  
With that, she jogged away, her coat swaying cutely against her hips as she waved to us.  
"Hey, you can look up now. The oh-so scary lady is gone."  
"That wasn't funny," he groused.  
"Good. I wasn't trying to be funny. If you didn't wanna accompany her, all you had to do was say no. I mean, that was just plain rude. I really didn't expect that from you." Oh wow, praise the heavens! I'm sounding mature!  
"Would you just be quiet for a change?!" he snapped in irritation.  
"Argh, you're such a bocciagalupe!" Then, "Aw, jeez! I don't want us to fight yet again, and so soon…"  
"I don't want that either," Gaara agreed in a much more gentle voice, placing a hand on my arm.  
"Okay, okay, let's not get all sappy," I mumbled nervously. I knew I was getting _this_ close to doing something extremely giddy to him, not to mention something I'd never done before in my whole life. Plus, I realized, those two crazies were now watching us, both of them looking scornfully at my friend.  
"I think we'd better get moving before you find yourself spontaneously combusting," I muttered while pointing a thumb behind me at the two women.

v-v

Having attempted to reconcile with Naruto, not to mention get my stuff back, which both failed miserably, I was left unable to go home.  
"I don't get it! I'm not allowed to talk to my parents at work, but my brother gets to stay with them all he wants! It's a conspiracy, I tell you! Who invented little brothers, anyway? They do nothing right!"  
A soft clearing of Gaara's throat finally got me out of my tirade.  
Oh, whoops! He's a…  
"I-It's no reflection on you, of course!"  
"Of course," he smirked.  
"Hey! I just remembered!" I said all of a sudden, my voice becoming rather stern. "Earlier, were you really going to call me a… er, well, the 'b' word?"  
"Excuse me?" he asked, looking sincerely confused.  
Stopping in my tracks, I placed my hands on my hips, but, feeling stupid, I tucked them behind my back.  
"Uh, how shall I put this?"  
Oh, yes. I might have neglected to mention that I do not swear, not even in my head. Heck, sometimes, I don't even feel comfortable spelling such things! (okay, there were those times back then, but I didn't know what those words meant, honest!)  
'Still, he must know what I mean!'  
Then it came to me.  
"Were you gonna call me a female dog?" Eesh, now why did that sound so much better in my head…?  
He gave me a most bemused look, but at the same time his eyes looked really remorseful. He looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn't get the words out.  
"Thought so."  
When he cast his eyes downwards, I was actually scared that he was going to withdraw all over again.  
'I won't have it!'  
Without thinking of anything else I could do, I threw an arm around his shoulder. "No more moping, Gaara! It's not a big deal, anyhow!"  
"It must have been, since you asked," he responded softly.  
"Nonsense! I was just checking! And look," I argued, holding up my other hand, "my fingers aren't crossed neither!"  
He let out a sigh, but said nothing more. Gently removing my arm from his person, he began walking again. Moaning in frustration, I made to follow then froze again. A store's window covered in retro gaming posters had suddenly caught my eye; lifting my head up a little, I read the sign, which had a few tiny icicles dangling at the bottom.  
"Old School Gamers' Haven, eh? That's for me!"  
Ah, but I couldn't leave my friend by himself, feeling the way he was. I quickly ran to him, then halted in front of him and held out both of my hands in front of him.  
"Let's have a quick look at that store over there," I attempted, my feet bobbing up and down with excitement. "Please, please, puh-lease!" I continued begging, knowing fully well that the chances were very low that he'd actually say yes.  
"Okay."  
"Aw, shucks! Who asked you, anyways!? I can go by myself!" I huffed with my nose held high in the air. "So there!"  
"You do realize I said yes, don't you?" Gaara demanded, his arms crossed over his chest. He seemed to be deciding whether to look cross or amused at my overly dramatic reaction.  
I quickly replayed the scene in my head, then, "Hm, so you did… Oopsie!"  
With that, we went in quietly. Well, Gaara went in quietly. I went in as fast (and noisily) as my legs could carry me; it's another little thing I do!  
Wasting no time, I began browsing every single aisle, marvelling at the fact that this store only carried the oldest of games, for the oldest of consoles, dating all the way back from the early 80s.  
"Wow, the original JAPANESE Final Fantasy! What a shame I don't have a Nintendo!" Then, realizing my blunder, I amended with, "I meant a Famicom!" (just in case a fellow gaming-geek heard me)  
Placing the box oh-so carefully back on the shelf (I surely wouldn't be able to afford buying it if I damaged it, not for $200!), I went over to where Gaara was standing, holding some box close to his face, looking abhorred.  
"What's eating you?" I dared.  
"Is this normal?" he asked, turning the box over for me to see.  
"Ooh, Final Fantasy III! _The_ Final Fantasy that has yet to see an official English translation!" I squealed, grabbing the box away from him and holding it close to my chest.  
"Did you see the price?" he asked, as though awaiting for me to be really disappointed.  
With dread now, I lifted the box just a touch, and nearly had a heart attack.  
"$400! That's four PSOnes put together…!" I groaned, snapping my fingers.  
"You don't sound all that surprised…"  
"Well, this is a vintage gaming shop. I kinda saw prices like this one here coming," I said, feeling pleased that here I knew I was going to sound much smarter than him. Handing the box back to him, I marched off to another aisle.  
Craning my head up as much as I could, my eyes went as wide as dinner plates when I saw that they had _Sam & Max Hit the Road_. Man, I haven't played that game in years! It was held at the very top, the battered box covered in dust and looking as though it had seen better days.  
'Ah, this isn't about the box, though!'  
Suddenly, the door opened up, and two hyperactive-looking boys entered, followed by their mother.  
"No. What if they see the game and get it instead of me?" Nodding my head, I called out to my friend to hurry over.  
"Can we please leave? I don't like it here," he murmured, very much in disbelief at how a game could cost so much.  
"If you help me get that one up there," I said, pointing up at the treasured title.  
"I can't reach it from up there!"  
"Then give me a boost up. I can't leave here for a second lest those two hyper kids get to it."  
Realizing I wasn't about to take any kind of no for an answer, he did just that, though it happened so quickly, I have no idea how. I couldn't stop myself, but at that moment, I got the most terrible case of the giggles imaginable.  
"Well?" I heard him ask below me.  
'Oh, right, the game. Let's see, now…'  
Stretching my arm up as best as I could, I found I was still having a difficult time in reaching it. I stretched it even further, my muscles aching in protest as they reached their limit.  
"Claire!"  
"Don't get your robes in a bunch! I almost got it!" I scolded my friend's impatience.  
Finally, my fingers managed to wrap themselves around the coveted box, and I gripped it tightly. However, before I could voice my triumph, I noticed a flash of blue coming near us, then…  
"BANZAI!"  
Hearing a grunt from my friend, along with a laugh from one of those kids, Gaara lost his balance and fell flat on his stomach, with me landing quite nicely on his back. As we were falling, the game fell out of my fingers, which then slammed painfully on top of my head, bouncing a few feet away from us.  
Without thinking to check if Gaara was all right, I made a dash for the game, just as that little weasel who bumped into us (on purpose, I should add) was about to grab it.  
"Yay! It's mine!" I jumped about happily.  
The little boy stuck out his tongue at me, then went to join his other whirlwind of a brother. A very unhappy redhead was soon back at my side, looking scornfully at me.  
"What? I'm innocent!"  
"How are you going to pay for it, anyway?"  
It was then I remembered that I didn't have my wallet with me. I nearly burst into tears when I looked at the yellowing price-tag, which was $50; well within my range. Surely if I left it here, those two little brats would take it.  
'And break it in less than a week,' I thought in dismay.  
"Maybe the guy at the cash register can hold it for me?" I hoped and made my way over.  
"How can I help you, dude and dudette?" the cashier asked in an extremely heavy surfer-dude accent. He had straw-like dirty blonde hair and was wearing a t-shirt that had the words 'I Rock!' printed on the front.  
"Um, yeah, do you think you can hold this game for me? Just for one day?"  
"No can do, dudette. Didn't you read our sign?"  
"No… What does it say?"  
"We don't take reservations, no matter the situation," he recited, a stupid grin plastered over his face.  
"Then, here," came an unexpected soft voice.  
Looking at the counter, I saw a crisp $50 bill lying underneath my friend's pale hand.  
"Righteous, dude! Steppin' out for your girl like that!"  
Rolling his eyes, he crossed his arms and said, "Get on with it."  
The man did as he was told, placing the dust-covered box in a brown bag and handing it over to me. The moment the money was in the cash register, we went outside.  
Still feeling speechless at what had just happened in there, I couldn't help but to hold onto the red-haired boy's hand and squeeze it tightly.  
"I'll pay you back as soon as that dumbie Naruto lets me back in to get my stuff back," was all I managed.  
My answer came in the form of him giving me that smile that I was so in love with, and I grinned right back.

v-v

The rest of the way to Gaara's house proceeded in silence. I myself was too busy thinking of how many hours I was going to spend playing the game from my early childhood. When we reached the large iron gates, however, the redhead wrapped both hands around one of the bars but didn't open it. He just stood there, staring at the house beyond with absolute hate and dread.  
"Oh! Thank goodness you're finally home! Come on inside before you catch your death of cold! Hurry now!"  
Looking up, I saw it was Gaara's mother, who was standing on the porch, holding a teacup in one hand and one of those Christmas catalogues in the other.  
"Oh, please! Every logical person knows you don't really catch a cold from…" I began, but at my friend's terrifyingly dark look, I amended with, "W-we wouldn't want to get sick now, no siree! You heard the woman, Gaara! Let's go in before we catch our death of cold!" Under my breath, I just had to say, "yeah, right…"  
But holy wow, isn't it just amazing how Gaara could be so thoughtful, sensitive, kind and caring one minute, annoyingly sarcastic the next, and downright frightening after that? I mean, sheesh! Make up your mind, fellar!  
Hurriedly entering the house before another one of our arguments could ensue, I gladly removed my jacket, which the lady Sabaku was more than happy to hang for me. However, the minute Gaara set foot inside, she shoved the catalogue and teacup in my hands and began fussing over him. I winced as a few drops of the still-scalding tea dripped onto my hand.  
"Where in the world were you, young man? You said you'd be gone for no more than an hour, and you come back after three. Why, you had me worried sick!"  
I couldn't keep in the snort that escaped my throat. At the same time, I was amazed at how different this woman was from Gaara's mean father.  
"Uh, excuse the interruption, but where's the bathroom?"  
"Oh, of course. Why don't you show her, Gaara dear?"  
He nodded as I gave the lady her things back.  
Inside the incredibly clean restroom, I began to ponder on what I was going to do now. Glancing at my watch, and finding it to be 7 o' clock, I felt really uneasy. My parents weren't going to be home for another two hours.  
'I'm gettin' hungry!'  
As I opened the door and let myself out, I came face to face with the man of the house himself, and I felt my knees weakening at the impossibly cold look on his face. Any form of bravery I might have felt earlier about facing this guy evaporated away as soon as I made the mistake of making eye-contact with him.  
"Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?" he cut right to the point, leaving no room for escape.  
"Uh, w-well, sir… Mister… Y-you see…" I stuttered unintelligibly.  
With the most opportune and welcome timing ever, Gaara came standing next to me, and I was all too eager to hide behind his back, shaking like a leaf.  
"Who is this stupid girl? Who gave you permission to bring anyone here?" he demanded, his voice matching the expression he was wearing.  
Before Gaara had a chance to answer, his hands balled into fists, someone called out, "Dad! You have a phone call! Better hurry, cuz it sounds urgent!"  
With an annoyed growl, the man pointed his index finger at my friend, "I'll deal with you later." Then he was gone.  
"Jeez! No offense, Gaara, but your old man is his own Halloween costume!" I stuttered, voicing my opinion I had of the old man the first time I saw him.  
"None taken," answered two male voices, one clearly being the redhead's answer. The second, as it turned out, was none other than Gaara's brother.  
"You're one witty kid, y'know?"  
"Right now I'm utterly creeped out. Good thing I'd already gone to the bathroom…"  
"Well, forget about him. Come on, kids. I want to show you my latest masterpiece!"  
"Right, but after that I'd like a glass of orange soda. Oh, and hot chocolate would be nice!" I piped up. "By the way, what is your name? I keep forgetting."  
"It's Kankurou. I forgot yours as well, actually."  
"Claire, the witty one."  
After quite a while of walking (this house IS too big), we were standing in Kankurou's cluttered mess of a bedroom. The thing that struck me was that it was littered with the kind of stuff you wouldn't normally expect to find in a boy's room.  
"Hey, why is there wood-chipping everywhere? You a lumberjack or something?"  
The moment the question left my mouth, I was given a sharp nudge to my ankle. Well, I wasn't having any of that, and I returned the favor with a kick of my own. Aiming ferocious looks at each other, it looked like it was on for Round 2.  
"Are you two even listening to me or what? Sheesh, you kids have the attention-spans of toothpicks, I swear!"  
"He kicked me!" I accused.  
"Tsk, tsk. You still have so much to learn about girls, don't you, little brother?" he teased.  
"Hmph!"  
"As I was saying, I've been working for months on this beauty. What do you think?" he asked, holding his rather calloused hands over a wooden puppet that, in my opinion, kind of looked like him.  
"Wow! It's so cute!" I squealed, holding it in my arms.  
"Hey, hey! That's not for hugging!" Kankurou scolded, and quickly but carefully pried it out of my hands. "That's my assignment for school."  
"Well, kudos, mate! I foresee an A+ in your future," I said in admiration of his work.  
"I agree," was the red-haired one's response.  
"So, what do you specialize in, kid?"  
"Me? I'm a gamer, and I do quite a bit of writing also."  
"A girl gamer? Well if that doesn't beat all," said Kankurou, running a hand through his messy brown hair.  
"Oh, go on! It's not that uncommon!" I pointed out. "Now, about that orange soda…"  
"What's with you and orange soda?"  
"I love orange soda. Oh, and can I just make a quick call to my parents? Just to let 'em know where I am."  
"Whatever you say. Let's go," Gaara's brother answered, and went outside. We followed after him.  
"I certainly like him better than when I first talked to him a few hours ago," I whispered to my friend. He chuckled at that, and I sighed in relief that he wasn't really angry with me. Apparently the both of us were still a little on edge about what had happened to us today.

v-v

Amazingly, miraculously even, as I was conversing with my mom on the phone, I was not only invited to dinner, but I was also asked to spend the night so that I wouldn't have to bring my parents over after a long and hard day's work. Will wonders not cease? Of course, the old coot was none too pleased with the arrangement, but since he was in the minority, it really didn't matter.  
Unfortunately, fish was on tonight's menu, and I hate fish. As everyone was eating in silence, without even a peep from Granny Nadia (not that she's scared of _him_, she said. She just didn't want to waste her precious breath on 'that yutz.'), I poked at my fish with my fork.  
'Mebbe if I poke it hard enough, it'll turn into something nummy, like a… a cheesecake, with fresh strawberries and whipped cream…'  
"Well? Isn't the food to your liking?" the old man asked in a third degree kind of voice.  
"I'm sure it's delicious an' all, but I'm not really big on fish."  
"I'm tired. Mother, may I be excused?" asked Gaara in an amazingly polite voice.  
"Of course, my love. Sleep well," Karura answered. (she has such a pretty name)  
"Claire, I'm sure you're tired, too?" he asked me.  
"No, not rea-" With his look that seemed to ask, 'Are you really this clueless?' though, my eyes conveniently got really heavy. "I mean, yeah! I sure am! Boy, am I pooped!"  
Kankurou had stuffed his fist in his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Temari, on the other hand, was doing everything she could in order to rouse her slumbering boyfriend chappie.  
As we were walking, I asked, "Do I have to sleep in the guest room? It's dark and scary. I hate it." I realize I sounded way ungrateful and all, but I really did find it to be scary. There's just no way I'd be able to sleep a wink in there.  
"I do feel responsible for most of this. You'll stay with me," he answered firmly.  
'Oh, great. Is that so wise? I'm too shy and giddy.'  
I said nothing of the sort out loud, of course. I just mumbled a thanks and left it at that.  
While he was off finding me something from Temari's night attires that would fit, I kept myself entertained with my new game's manual - what luck that I always kept a spare pair of glasses on me, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to read a thing.  
"Heh, heh. Psycho bunny things rule!"  
"I'm sorry?"  
"Oh hi, Gaara. This book is way funny for a manual," I said in between snickers, putting the glasses and book aside for the moment.  
"I'm sure it is," he humored me, showing me a hideous canary yellow nightdress with poofy AND frilly sleeves. "Temari said you can keep it. She never wears it."  
"I'm shocked. No, I'm outraged. How could she not wear this lovely piece of clothing? In my country, such travesty is unheard of!"  
"Other people say 'thank you'," he said, hardly missing my sarcasm.  
"I'd rather sleep in the clothes I'm wearing now than that ugliness, thank you very much. I mean, wearing Naruto's teeny-weeny pajamas was torture enough, but there's no way I'm dressing up as some diseased Disney Princess. Absolutely not no."  
"Suit yourself," he said, placing the offending item on my futon in case I changed my mind.  
"Surely _you_ have something I can borrow?"  
He looked at me as though I was making a funny or something.  
"I've worn guys' clothes before. It's no biggie."  
"Including mine?" he asked with a smirk.  
'We'll see who gets the last laugh around here, bub!'  
"Just so you know, and like I told you she would, Granny Nadia told me I looked good in that outfit. She said, and I quote, I looked so adorable. So, ha!" I painfully crossed all my fingers behind my back, not having forgotten that she'd also said, "In a bizarre sort of way."  
At his surprised expression, I got a brainwave, "Ooh, ooh! Can I wear it to school tomorrow?" After all, I couldn't possibly wear the same clothes yet again, and there'd be no time to go to my apartment the next morning to change before school.  
"Now I know you're not being serious."  
"I am, actually. Let's call that your payback for jumping me earlier, and almost calling me the 'b' word on toppa that."  
"You wish to go to school in clothes that are far too big for you?" Gaara asked in amazement.  
"Boy, do I!" I cheered, thinking wickedly of all the girls' reactions when they saw me in Gaara's clothes. Oh, I can picture their faces now!  
'To think that those very clothes are what got me in this predicament in the first place.'  
"The Lord DOES work in mysterious ways…" I thought out loud in wonderment, pressing a finger to my chin.  
"What?" Gaara asked, looking utterly confused.  
"Oh, nothing, nothing…"  
He sighed in defeat, then sat at his desk; to do homework, no doubt.  
"Oh, come on! You dragged me here when I wasn't even tired! Don't you dare go do more homework now!" I said in sheer exasperation.  
"Very well," he said, sounding a little guilty. "What do you wish to do?"  
"For starters, I'm dying for that hot chocolate that I never got. I'll just go and get…" I began, both hands already turning the doorknob.  
"Stay where you are!"  
"Well, sheesh! Who died and made you Master of the Universe?" I snapped, feeling rather hurt at him raising his voice to me like that. However, I decided to hide it by saying, "If you ever talk to me like that again, I'll kick _you_ where the sun will never shine again!" (I wouldn't, really. I'm no fighter in any sense of the word)  
"My apologies," he said with a bow of his head. "I just don't want you to run into Father again."  
"So much for revering our elders," I joked feebly. "Fine, then would you get me some while I change into that nasty nightie?"  
"Weren't you saying that you'd never wear it?"  
"Gee, Kankurou IS right. You do have a lot to learn about girls. Don't you know how quick we are to change our minds about stuff?"  
At his irritated glare, I said, "Okay, okay. Truth is, I don't wanna get scolded later for sleeping in my clothes."  
He gave the tiniest of nods, then was gone.  
"Pfft. Like I'm really gonna wear you, you ugly piece of work, you!" I found myself talking to the dress - maybe I am a little more tired than I thought… I picked up the offending article and threw it in a corner of the huge room.  
Refusing to think about any of the possible consequences that might follow, I began searching every drawer and such for where Gaara kept his nightclothes. Before long, I found a nice, soft black pair of pajamas that looked like something I'd wear and changed into them in record speed. Obviously, they were far too big for me, but I couldn't care less. How could I, when they were so warm?  
'H'yeah… Like I'm really thinking about how warm they are,' I thought swooningly.  
Just then, my friend was back, a steaming mug in one hand and a cordless phone in the other. He sighed in utter frustration when he saw I'd totally fooled him, but said nothing and handed me both items.  
"Much obliged, my friend," I chortled and pressed the phone to my ear.  
"Hello?"  
"Hey! Guess who's calling you on your phone!?" came Naruto's uber-loud voice.  
"What!? You're using my phone!? You better say an entire Rosary tonight if you messed with all my stuff, because I'll punch you senseless if you have!"  
"Naw, just your phone, oh, and your diary." I could actually see the devious look the blonde must have had on his face then.  
"Nice try, you twit. I don't have a diary," I threw back.  
"Ah, well. So, what's going on now?"  
"Well, let's just say I'm gonna be sleeping in a mansion tonight, and you're not. Bye, now! Don't forget to write!" I said in a sing-song voice, then hung up before he could say anything further.  
"Why are you wearing those?" Gaara suddenly asked from behind me.  
"Gaara, Gaara, Gaara… How can you be so naïve? Did you really believe me for one second when I said I'd wear that thing?" I asked, pointing at the crumpled nightie.  
"Since you've claimed time and again that you're terrible at lying, yes, I did."  
"I can bend the rules just a touch when it's in such a good cause," I offered whilst picking out a couple of marshmallows and tossing them in my mouth.  
"What now?"  
"I'm just going to ask because I want to make sure, but do you have a TV hidden somewhere in your room?"  
"No."  
"Well, poop!" I grumbled. I began lamenting the fact that I hadn't been able to touch my copy of _Final Fantasy IX_ since I bought it because of all the packing and everything.  
"I've been meaning to ask you," he blurted out of nowhere, "Don't you miss your old home?"  
"Am I a voluptuous blonde supermodel?" I offered teasingly.  
"N-no," he answered uncomfortably.  
"Okee dokee, just thought I'd check," I laughed and sat cross-legged on the futon as I took a sip of the hot chocolate. I don't know why, but I felt extremely proud of myself that I'd managed to get Gaara all flustered when it seemed like such a feat was next to impossible.  
'Still, it sure is sweet of him to ask.'  
Before any more words could be exchanged between us, in came Granny Nadia, looking really irritable.  
"What's up, Granny?" I asked her.  
"If that yutz badmouths my Gaara one more time, I'm going to wipe that arrogant look clean off his face with my purse," she said in a really calm and collected voice, as though it was not the first time she'd made threats like that.  
This was confirmed when Gaara said, "That's what you said a few days ago."  
"Don't get smart with your grandmother," she commanded.  
She turned to me, eyed me for a few seconds and chuckled, "I see you got bored again, kiddo."  
"Nope, this time it was either this or that frilly thing belonging to Temari. I don't do frills, so there you go."  
"You mean it has nothing to do with the fact that you like…" Nadia began wickedly.  
My eyes widened when it looked like the old lady was about to blab. I quickly cut her off by shouting, "Boys' clothes! Yep, you got me, Granny! I sure LIKE boys' clothes! No way I coulda fooled you!" Hm, is it me, or was I sounding a tad hysterical? Very well could be me.  
Granny's sharp expression told me that she indeed wanted to give me away - not to be mean or anything, more like playing matchmaker. While her heart was surely in the right place, things were already too complicated around here. I couldn't deal with being set-up as well, something that could very well end up jeopardizing my friendship with Gaara.  
'I can't bear for that to happen…'  
The boy in question was looking curiously at the both of us, as though he suspected that this conversation had something to do with him, but didn't know exactly where he fit into any of it. He decided not to say anything, and instead sat himself down on his bed.  
Chuckling to herself, Nadia began fumbling in her beaded purse. With an "Aha!" she fished out a small plastic bag filled with chocolate cookies.  
One of my major weaknesses having been exposed, I hurriedly covered my mouth with the sleeve of my pajamas to stop myself from drooling with want. Since I'd skipped dinner, I was now extremely hungry, and those cookies appeared before me like a big five-star banquet.  
"Uh, Granny, could I…?"  
"Certainly better than you eating nothing whatsoever. Why do so many girls your age feel they need to starve themselves?"  
"Beats me," I replied without really hearing what she'd said, and gratefully accepted the bag. With that, I began stuffing my face, my manners having left my body entirely. Lifting my face up for some air after having devoured my fifth cookie, I suddenly felt beyond embarrassed at the shocked looks on the others' faces.  
Timidly clearing my throat, I held out the bag in front of them, "I'm sorry. Did you want some?"  
"Oh, no. Help yourself. Good to see you have such a healthy appetite," Nadia said, now smiling.  
Gaara said absolutely nothing, his mouth twitching a little. It looked like he was trying his hardest not to let a laugh escape from his throat.

v-v

"Really!? That's so weird, Granny!"  
"Why?"  
"Cuz you said you know everything, so you must've heard of him!"  
"That can only mean he's not important enough."  
"WHAT!?" I exclaimed in outrage. "How can you say that about the great Mr. David Hayter?! He's the holder of the sexiest voice in the entire universe! And he's really dishy, too!"  
"Oh? Even more than…?"  
"Yes!" I interrupted.  
"I'm sure he has nothing on Burt Reynolds, though," Granny pointed out.  
"Oh, but he does!" I insisted with my hands clasped to my cheek. "For the longest time I wanted to be his girlfriend."  
"You should be thinking like that about boys your age. Now doesn't my Ga-?"  
"GRANNY!"  
'This woman really doesn't know when to give up, does she?' I thought as I rubbed my brow in annoyance.  
It turned out, however, that this time I wasn't in any danger of having my secret revealed, because Gaara was lying on the bed with his back to us, sound asleep.  
"You see, kiddo? He wasn't going to find out."  
"If you keep this pace up, he will before Christmas," I grumbled.  
"So you're finally admitting it?"  
"Well, would you look at the time? It sure is late, Granny, and I'm sure you want to catch up on your beauty sleep," I babbled as I pushed her by the shoulders and out the door.  
After all was said and done, I found myself plopping down on the very soft mattress of Gaara's bed. Resting my chin on one hand, I unconsciously reached out with the other and drew circles on his back with my fingers.  
"It's going to be a long night."

v-v

_I was walking by that tiny park from last evening as snow fell lightly from the gray clouds above. For some reason, I was wearing very little to protect myself from the cold, which is so unlike me. I'm usually not comfortable without at least three layers of tops, not including a jacket. Yet, there I was in some flimsy pink tank top and matching shorts. For another reason also beyond me, I was barefoot, but I wasn't feeling any discomfort.  
All of a sudden, I felt a soft tap to my shoulder, and it was NOT snow. I took a defensive stance and spun around, ready to take on, or pathetically attempt to, the intruder.  
I sighed in relief when I saw that it was only Gaara.  
'But why is he looking at me in that really odd manner? I want my mom!'  
"Um, Gaara… Stop looking at me like that or I'm… I'm gonna tell on you!" I threatened.  
'"I'm gonna tell on you"? That's the best you can come up with?! Gosh, you're lame!' I scorned myself.  
As though I'd said nothing, he raised his right arm.  
'What the heck's he doin'? Does he want to shake my hand?'  
A mini version of myself suddenly appeared in my mind and began to dance around with joy as it screamed like some peppy cheerleader. Why, you might be asking? I shall tell you. There was dancing going around in my brain because at that very moment, my red-haired companion had the palm of his hand resting most casually against my cheek.  
"I've denied it to myself for too long," he finally said.  
"What? That you're a vegetarian?" I mumbled, pretending that what was happening right now was perfectly normal. Oh, sure. I was dressed like I was going to the beach in the middle of winter, it was snowing yet I wasn't at all cold, and my secret crush was acting as though we were a couple… Yes, yes, definitely normal!  
"I've been denying how I feel about you," he corrected.  
'OH HEAVENS ABOVE!'  
"But-but-but… How could you have been denying it for ages if we've known each other for only a few days?"  
"It seems so much longer when you're in love."  
"IN LOVE!? Are you insane!?"  
Then I remembered something most important.  
"W-what about that Young chick? I mean, you're not gonna stand there and tell me…"  
"She hardly compares to you, my love," he said with that stunningly beautiful smile of his as he pressed a pale finger to my lips.  
"I am NOT your love! Sabaku Gaara, I order you to come back to your senses this instant! And stop touching my face!" I hollered and smacked his offending hand away.  
'This is happening all too fast.'  
"I know how you feel, you know?"  
"You're nuts! You hear me? You're acting like a freaking nut!"  
Again, he acted as though I'd not said word. Only this time, with Mini-Claire bouncing more giddily than ever, he was bending his head close to mine. In defiance of my earlier actions, he placed both hands on my face.  
I didn't like where this was going, but at the same time, I was extremely excited. I wanted to do something with my arms; perhaps smack him silly for having completely invaded my personal space… or, maybe I could be a lady and return the affections… or, should I make him see stars for thinking for even a moment that I wanted him to kiss me…?  
"You DO want him to kiss you, you pea-brain!" exclaimed Mini-Claire, now sporting two pom-poms and performing incredibly flexible gymnastic moves.  
'Wah! I'm so confused!'  
Oh, dear… Our faces are getting closer…  
My once-limp arms began to move of their own accord, finally bringing one hand to rest against Gaara's neck, while the other lay on his hip.  
His mouth was so close to mine now that I could feel his warm breath against my skin, which began to tingle like crazy.  
My heart was beating so painfully hard and fast that I began to feel faint. Stars were dancing in front of my eyes. Not much longer until I completely collapse…  
'Is this real…?'_

ooo

I opened my eyes as wide as they could go, letting out one raspy breath after another. With my head still laying on the pillow, I saw Gaara's face on top of mine.  
"Kyah! Get away from me, you nasty pervert!" I screamed, and bashed my pillow continuously against his face. "Let's see how _you_ like being touched and handled when you don't want to be!"  
Within seconds, my friend snatched the fluffy weapon away from me and threw it aside.  
"What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?" he demanded.  
"Have _you_ lost _your_ mind? What do you think you were doing, leaning over me like that?" I demanded right back, pointing two accusing fingers at him.  
"You looked like you were having a bad dream. I was simply checking up on you," he said matter-of-factly.  
"Dream…? Of course, that's all it was…! It was only a dream. Hardly real, and certainly NOT based on any fantasies of mine…! The subconscious mind, huh?" Great, I'm babbling again.  
Looking around the room and trying my hardest not to look at him, I groaned in disappointment when I saw it was still really dark outside. Through the window near the bed, I could make out rather faint flashes of lightning in the distance; strong gusts of wind was blowing ferociously against the glass as though it wanted to tear everything apart.  
'Great… A storm is approaching. Just what the doctor ordered…' I groaned again as I dropped my head into my hands.  
"What's wrong?" Gaara asked in concern, placing a hand on my shoulder.  
"Man, I'm not gonna tell you again! Enough with the touching!" I almost shouted at him. But upon gathering the courage to look into his teal eyes and saw the genuine worry and care in them, I felt absolutely guilty for even thinking of saying such a thing to him. It's not like he forced me to have that crush-induced fantasy of a dream, and he'd never actually… Oh, you know!  
Also, I was still feeling really confused. While on the one hand that dream made me uncomfortable beyond all reason, on the other I wanted to see how it was going to end right before I woke up.  
"Sorry, Gaara, but that dream was a real doozy. I'm just a little shook up is all."  
"Maybe if you talk about it, you'll feel better," he suggested, now giving my shoulder a comforting squeeze.  
'Why is he being so sweet?' I wondered with a sniff. I hated feeling this way, truly hated it.  
Suddenly, a troubling thought entered my brain; Dream Gaara had said he knew how I felt; did the real Gaara actually know somehow but decided to keep that knowledge to himself?  
'Egad, I hope not!' I inwardly whined as I chewed nervously on my fingernails. 'When did I fall asleep, anyways? I don't remember going to sleep. I don't even remember getting in the futon? Did he actually…?'  
I decided I'd rather not find out. I had enough images in my head, and I doubt my brain could handle more without shutting down on me completely. Instead, I asked him what time it was.  
"1 in the morning."  
"Aw, jeez," I grumbled as I tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear.  
"You do look really shaken. Won't you tell me about it?" he asked, his voice never sounding so kind.  
To my absolute horror, when I looked at him after he'd asked the question, I felt tears stinging my eyes. I never ever felt this way before in my entire life; it was a feeling that left me so confused and a little scared. Is it possible that this was more than a crush? Was there a chance that I…?  
"Are you crying…?"  
"No way! I just have something in my eye, that's all," I said in a pitiful voice, hastily rubbing both eyes with the bed sheets.  
'You idiot! No one in their right mind believes that tried excuse anymore, if ever!'  
The sad frown my friend was wearing told me right away that he was one of those people that would never fall for such a lie, but he said nothing at all; it looked as though he was at a loss for what he could say at this point. I said nothing either, opting instead to stare at his hand that was now stroking my arm, probably in an attempt to provide me with some comfort.  
'I wonder if he treats all his friends this way when they're down? If it were Young in my place, would he be reacting like this as well?'  
I nearly let a scream out when I suddenly felt myself being pulled into his arms. I didn't however, and just let my forehead rest against his shoulder.  
Sitting in this position, I was reminded of the night when I did this exact same thing when I'd first seen Gaara's nasty father - maybe he was just returning the favor but, deep down, I wished it was for something deeper than that. For a change, rather than denying my feelings, I succumbed to them as I wrapped my arms around his waist.  
Yikes! If my parents ever found out about what was happening at this very moment, they'd ground me until the 22nd century!  
Still, it would be so worth it, if only he…  
'Is there even a remote chance that you like me the way I do?' I wanted to ask him, but I simply did not have enough courage to do so. I was quite sure what the answer would be, anyway. I didn't need any confirmation there. I scrunched my eyes closed so as to stop any further tears from escaping me.  
'How could I possibly feel this way after having known him for a few days? How?'  
"Is there truly nothing I can do to make you feel better?" His whispered question sounded quite muffled, and this was because, I realized, he had his face buried in my uber-messy hair.  
"A cup of tea would be nice," I mumbled miserably. As I said this, I tightened my hold on him, indicating that I didn't want him to let go for even a second. Alas, he didn't seem to have noticed my hint at all as he removed himself from the embrace and stood up.  
'Why can't men ever take a hint?' I wondered to myself, getting to my feet as well.

v-v

I could hear my friend's voice trying to reach out to me, but I couldn't make out a single word that he was saying. This time, it was me that was acting all withdrawn and closed up. I just had too many questions on my mind, questions that I was too afraid to ask him.  
Did he really have feelings for that Young girl?  
Why on Earth did I dream something like _that_?  
Was it showing me how I truly felt, how _he_ truly felt?  
Should I tell him about my feelings, even if I myself wasn't sure what they really were?  
Why did he hold me? Is it because he truly believes I had a terrible nightmare, or for another reason entirely?  
What is the truth?  
Argh! This is too much to face alone! If only there was someone I could talk to about this. Someone who truly understood what these feelings meant and wouldn't tease me about them.  
I snapped out of my thoughts when I felt myself being guided to a chair. The next thing I knew, I had a hot cup of tea in front of me, with my companion sitting right across me.  
"You're not being your usual self," he began.  
"No duh…" I returned. "Stupid nightmares. Who invented 'em, anyways?"  
'Only it was hardly a nightmare. I didn't even wanna wake up.'  
In an attempt to distract myself, I picked up the teacup and took a few nervous sips of the warm liquid.  
This was hardly the sleepover I had in mind, I'll tell you this much. One thing I was absolutely sure of was that Naruto wasn't really going to be all that jealous of me after all. Why, he was probably having the best sleep of his life.  
"What's on your mind?" asked Gaara as he brought his own cup to his lips.  
"Actually, I was just thinking how jealous Naruto must be right now. I can't wait to rub his nose in it for not letting me get my stuff back."  
"Really?"  
"Really, really."  
"You shouldn't. He's a really good friend of mine. I don't want you talking about him like that," he said, very much serious.  
"I can think of one other person who's a really good friend," I tossed in ever so casually.  
"Who?"  
Golly! If I heard him correctly, my smart friend Gaara just had himself quite a blonde moment; or, as I called it, a Rose moment. (_Golden Girls_, what an inspiration!)  
"Barney the Purple Dinosaur," I muttered to him sarcastically. "You, Gaara, you!"  
"Oh…"  
I thought it was so cute the way he turned his face away, thinking that I wouldn't be able to see the really light tint of pink on his cheeks. I was SO tempted to reach out and stroke them, but, with extreme difficulty, I managed to restrain myself from doing so.  
"You're not really sharp at this time of the morning, are you?" At his glare, I cheerfully added, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You're actually the smartest person I've ever met."  
'And the kindest, sweetest, most caring…' Enough already, you stupid brain, you!  
"I take it you're feeling better?"  
"A little I s'pose."  
"You're still not going to tell me about the dream, are you?"  
"I would, but I forgot most of it," I said, not daring to look at him for telling such a lie. I quickly raised my cup to my mouth and gulped down the rest of the tea. I let out a deep breath once the last drop went down my throat.  
"Do you really write?" came a most unexpected question.  
"Come again?"  
"Earlier, you said you write. Do you?"  
"Ah, well, if these klutzy hands of mine are good at something, it's penning words onto paper," was my answer.  
"I'd like to read them sometime."  
"Huh?" I gave him a long look, then, "Oh, ho ho! You had me going for a second. I get it; Gaara told a joke! Now that's a good one. Read my… Ha, what a card you are!"  
"Do you not want me to?" he demanded with his arms crossed on the table.  
"Who told you that? I sure didn't tell you that."  
"Then you'd let me have a look?"  
Lifting my head up, I saw that he now had both of his elbows propped up on the table with his chin resting on his knuckles. He was also looking directly into my eyes.  
"Ah, I didn't say that, either," I said, suddenly feeling really shy and self-conscious. "But, who knows? I might let you check out a title or two."  
"That would be nice."  
There's that smile again. I highly doubt that he knew this, but he could order me to do anything his heart desired with that smile, and I would do them without question - no matter how outrageous or ridiculous.  
'Phew… It's a good thing I have a crush on Gaara and not Naruto, bless his heart.'  
"So, what do we do now?"  
Gaara answered with a question of his own, "What do you usually do when you can't sleep?"  
'Oh, boy. If he's asking me this for tips regarding his insomnia, he's barking up the wrong tree.'  
Still, best not to leave him hanging, so I began counting down the stuff I did on my fingers, "I play Final Fantasy VII, watch The Golden Girls, hang around on the internet… Oh, and I listen to VGM a lot."  
"VGM?"  
"Video game music."  
The moment he rolled his eyes at my answer, I gave him a light smack on the wrist. "Don't be so quick to judge something before you've even given it a try. Why, you could very well find Uematsu-sama's music to be the best thing your ears ever heard."  
"Who?" the red-haired teen asked in bafflement.  
"Wha-? Are you seriously telling me that you've never heard of Nobuo Uematsu?!" I demanded, remembering just in time to keep my voice down.  
"No, I have not," he said, sounding like he couldn't care less.  
"You're such a know-nothing! First your granny is telling me she's never heard of Mr. David Hayter, and now you're acting nonchalantly about the greatest music composer that ever set foot on this planet… What ever next?"  
"Why are you taking it so personally?" he asked.  
"The man happens to be my guy hero. With those amazing tunes he's written, you just can't say anything bad about him."  
"I'll have to hear them before I can believe you," he insisted stubbornly.  
"You know, even my mom told me his music is nice on the ears, and she hates video games even more than you do, if that's possible. I doubt her saying that was just a fluke," I threw at him.  
"What else do you do?"  
Ugh, what a baby, changing the subject on me like that because he knew he was losing the argument!  
"Nope, that's it. I always fall asleep when I do any of those things, which I see are out of the question here."  
"So it seems," agreed Gaara.  
"Ooh, ooh, I know!" I jumped out of my chair, pressing my hands to my cheeks in unexpected joy. "I'm gonna make a big ole list of what I want for my birthday and Christmas!"  
"Your birthday, hm?" my friend said very softly, closing his eyes for a few seconds.  
"Yeah. Maybe you oughta do the same. Your birthday's not that far off either, right?"  
Reopening his eyes, he said, "I'm too old for that sort of thing."  
"Rubbish! You're never too old to make a wish list, mm-mm…" I protested indignantly. Seriously, I like maturity as much as the next person, but my friend was FAR too mature for his own good. Just once, I'd like to see him act like the teenager that he is and have some fun. If anyone ever deserved a good time around here, that would definitely be Gaara.  
"I'm not interested."  
With a very small chuckle, I told him, "I don't mean to scare you, but you sound so much like one of my favorite heroes in the gaming world."  
He chose to say nothing to this, stood up, and proceeded on his way back to his room, with me quickly following. My mind was again racing with thoughts, but at least this time they weren't depressing ones.  
Once I caught up to him, I wrapped both arms around one of his.  
"Thank you for being such a good friend, Gaara," I whispered gratefully.

End Chapter 6

Yes, yes! I did it! Starting it was the hard part, but once I managed to do that, I couldn't stop working on this chapter.  
As you can see, I focused a lot on the comedy factor on the first half of the chapter and dealt more with romance and stuff on the second half. It came out much sappier than I had planned, but it's sadly one of my many weaknesses. _blush_  
First thing I wanna say is that the dream sequence was based on an actual dream of mine, and yes, it DID involve Gaara. (the only difference is that the kiss did occur in that one. I unfortunately woke up in the middle of it… _grumble_)  
Sadly, regarding the retro games, I wasn't exaggerating where the prices are concerned. Old games are immensely valuable to collectors, crappy titles included, and even when they're loose they can sell for a pretty penny. It's actually really bad news for an old school gamer like me.  
Anyhow, there's gonna be some more cross-dressing in the next chapter so, hopefully, there'll be more comedy rather than sap. I have to admit I love Gaara's clothes (his second outfit in the original series will always be my favorite), and my dream is to attend an anime convention and cosplay as him. _fingers crossed_  
Speaking of Gaara, I find his character to be so sweet and rather sensitive. He should never compare himself to a certain someone whose name shall not be mentioned in this story (it gets mentioned more than enough times in the anime and manga, thank you very much). He's just so devoted and protective of his friends and family, even when it means putting his life in extreme danger. No wonder he's my favorite. Come on, his ultimate dream is to be needed by someone and that he'd be able to protect that someone with all his might. Isn't that so romantic? _smile_  
Also, I may have forgiven Yashamaru (the uncle chappie), but I just cannot bring myself to forgive Gaara's father. To me, his apology came far too little too late, and his ways of dealing with his son to see if he's worthy and stuff were just too cruel in my opinion. Bless Gaara's heart of gold for being able to forgive the man for all the pain he'd caused him. What a character!  
One more thing, isn't Granny Nadia such a tease?

_sits in a corner and begins to pray for a review or two while daydreaming about Ishida-sempai_  
(I have such a HUGE crush on Akira Ishida-sempai -Gaara's seiyuu- that it's not even funny. It's not just the looks; his voice is so incredible and soothing, he's a terrific voice-actor and works so hard, and he's such a sensitive man - one of my favorite qualities in a person is sensitivity. That horrid press reporter should just go and jump in a volcano for his tactless and spiteful review about Ishida-sempai)


	8. Bonus Material!

Title: Not All as It Seems

Bonus Material!

This is just the wish list that Claire said she was going to write at the end of the last chapter. Don't worry, I'm uploading the next chapter together with this one, so feel free to skip this if you wish. This idea was inspired from those letters in the _Shopaholic_ books (by Sophie Kinsella), which I think are really funny.

A/N: At some points, you'll notice stuff in brackets like (kitty face). That's signifying where Claire is doodling. (I WOULD have used symbols and stuff to showcase this, unfortunately, this site has this way of totally messing up such formatting when removing characters it feels like; this even includes several pronunciations, which is really annoying - but that's another story)

My Wish List Thingy (two hearts)

o Sailormoon's Star Locket, because it's the bestest thing in the whole universe. I like the Gold one, it's beautiful. (flower)

o The PlayStation 2, because it's got a totally cool selection of games. Naruto has it, I want one too!  
(three kitty faces)

o Whoopi Goldberg and Beatrice Arthur's autographs, because they're awesome. (oh, do try, pretty please!)

o The Final Fantasy VII soundtrack, because the one I got online turned out to be a bootleg! (how horrid!) (sad smiley)

o That heart locket like the one I saw at the airport. I promise to wear it every day if you buy it for me…

o A kitten. No wait, puppies are smarter. A puppy! No, kittens are cuter and fluffier. A kitten, please! But then, puppies are more loyal… Maybe a puppy… (kitty face) (puppy face)

o Wild Arms 3. The leader is a girl with brown hair, like me! I'll name her Claire! (feather)  
I know! I'll name the hero G… Um… never mind! (four hearts)

o Cats are cleaner, make that a kitten for sure! (I wonder if Gaara likes cats? I'll ask him!)  
He likes them, but he prefers dogs. I definitely want a puppy! I like the Akita breed best.

o A stereo system just like the one Gaara has. Maybe Dad sells them?

o Final Fantasy X, because I love Sir Auron. He is cool. (heart)

o Roller blades.

o A new Micro Genius console, because those dumb rich kids broke it just before Christmas when I was little. They're so stupid! (bow and arrow)  
I'd let Naruto borrow it, I think…

o A Sailorjupiter doll, because I lost my old one.  
(three flowers)  
I wish I were as tall and beautiful as Jupiter-chan…

o A Sailorstarmaker doll, because she is the most beautiful character in all of Sailormoon. A fine singer, too.

o Where did Naruto get that orange sweatshirt with the black sleeves? I want five of them, please.

o The Golden Girls videos or DVDs.

o Keeping Up Appearances videos or DVDs. (I wanna watch this with the guys. I wonder if they ever saw British sitcoms?)

o A Tifa plushie, 'cause she's my favorite character in Final Fantasy VII.  
I want Cloud and Tifa to get married! (bell and flower)

o Anastasia's music box, just because it's so beautiful and it plays one of my very favorite songs in the whole world. I like it very much. I might watch the movie tomorrow. (Pooka is so cute!)

o Sailormoon's Cosmic and Crisis lockets, they're just so amazing! I'd even settle for pendants… (heart with wings)

o Last time, I swear! I want a kitten with absolute certainty! I will call her Marilla. Is that a good name? I think it is!

I think I asked for too many things. I had better stop now.  
I'll try to get some more sleep. Maybe I'll have another cup of that delicious tea before I hit the hay. (why do people say "hit the hay" anyway?)  
I can't wait to wear Gaara's clothes again tomorrow! (sentence crossed out)

I wonder when Naruto and Lee's birthdays are? Maybe it's not too late to buy them each a nice gift?

End of the bonus material!  
Proceed to the real Chapter 7 if you please!


	9. Getting to Know Them - Enter TenTen!

Title: Not All as It Seems  
Warnings: Comedy, fluff and occasional sap  
Pairings: Gaara/Young (_heart_), Tayuya/Shikamaru/Temari (how troublesome…), Naruto/Sakura/Lee (I wish I had guys like Naru-chan and Lee fighting over me! _jealous_), Naruto/Hinata and Mist/Ino

Oh, dear… Another super-slow update… My only excuse is massive writer's block. I can't stress just how awful it is; this is especially bad since I'm not able to write my book that I wish to have published - for those who wish to know, it is called 'Bluebell'.  
I do have another reason, and that's because I'm taking a Childcare course in Malta, and the trip alone twice a week is a killer. On toppa that, I have been given a ton of assignments to work on out of nowhere! (the director of the institute is a SADIST!) I just don't have the time that I used to… Sorry, all!

Disclaimer: I really wish that I owned Naruto, but since a certain red-haired character isn't the star of the manga/anime (heh heh, sorry, Naru-chan!) and still isn't getting the appearances he deserves, be it the manga, anime, or a lot of the games (grr!), that can only mean my wish has yet to come true… _choke sob_

Claimer: Granny Nadia, Dawn Tribal, Mist Shidou and Young Valentine are mine! If you wanna use them, please ask me first, thank you! (all of them sans Nadia are characters taken from the book I'm trying to publish)

My Thank You Corner, Still Alive and Well… (only just)  
SatsurikuSajira – for being such a loyal reviewer, not to mention really nice and stuff. Your reviews and PMs really make me happy. **smiles** (and my apologies again for the bad impressions I gave you of Young. I hope you'll still like the story)  
Aoi Kazuya – first of all, I gotta say I like your username a lot. (and Kazuya is one of my favorite characters in the Tekken series!) Hm, even though you're not the first reviewer saying they want Claire to be with Gaara, I am sticking to my original plot. But, worry not! There'll be a nice surprise in the future, which I won't spoil. Shh! And of course, thank you very much for your super nice review; I am so glad you're liking the humor. I love Zack too, but my favoritest FF characters will always be Blank and Faris. Why they still have not made any cameos whatsoever makes about as much as sense as to why Yzma and Gaston have never appeared in the Kingdom Hearts games! But I digress, so thanks again for your review! **happy smile**

One more thing! For some reason, Temari reminds me A LOT of the character Marvel from the Bloody Roar games. Am I alone in this? :/ Wouldn't it be cool to see a fight scene between these two cool ladies?

I shall say this for the last time, because this is not going to change; the chapters are very long. It's advisable to read them a bit at a time, rather than all at once. It's pretty much like reading a book, and this is all practice for me. I hope you guys understand.

Chapter 7  
Getting to Know Them Better - Enter TenTen!

10th December, 2002 (Tuesday)

It's just no good. No matter how hard I tried to, I could not fall back to sleep. Don't get me wrong; I was sleepy beyond all reason, and my eyelids were practically begging me to close them and keep them that way till next week. However, each and every time my eyes shut for just a few seconds, I'd get images from that dream swirling in my head, after which I'd find myself pacing back and forth around the room. I must have repeated this process a thousand times by now…  
Another thing that was really working against me was the fact that now the storm from earlier was much closer and louder. The rain and wind seemed to be in a competition on which one of them could break the bedroom windows first, and don't get me started on how loud and frightening the thunder crashes were.  
I wanted to wake Gaara up with every ounce of my being because I really needed the company. That wasn't going to happen however, as he hadn't been asleep for more than fifteen minutes now, and I just didn't have the heart to wake him considering how terrible his insomnia could prove to be.  
Glancing at my watch, which I had left lying on the futon, for the umpteenth time, I heaved a big sigh when I saw it was still 4 in the morning.  
'To think that only a few hours ago, there I was in his arms…' I thought with a dreamy sigh. Almost immediately afterwards, I gave myself a few scolding slaps on both cheeks for daring to venture back into Giddy Land.  
Suddenly, I heard the sound of footsteps pass the door, and I quickly opened it to find out who else could possibly be up at this hour.  
'Wait… What if it's that creepy old geezer? I sure don't want him calling me stupid again! He really is a yutz!'  
Ignoring my fears, I exited the room and followed after the shadowy figure. A few minutes later found me walking alongside that Temari girl. I brushed a hand over my brow in relief - nothing like a little girl-talk to make things flow a little better for the rest of the day.  
"Mm? What are you doing up at this hour?" she asked, still sounding quite tired herself.  
'Cuz your brother won't stay outta my dreams! What a pesterer!' I answered in my head. How to answer her untruthfully, I did not know. I decided to say nothing and just shrugged my shoulders as I hugged the borrowed pajamas closer to my body.  
"Oh, yes. Gaara said something about you being terrified of storms," she said with this really teasing tone of voice.  
"Argh! Why that good-for-nothing bocciagalupe! I didn't tell him that so that he'd go and blab it to everybody!" I shouted angrily.  
"Oh, relax. Something like that isn't supposed to be a secret." As she said this, she gave me a scolding look that clearly meant I had been too loud.  
I rubbed my hand sheepishly behind my head to indicate that I was sorry and asked, "Where's the TV?"  
"Are you being serious?" she demanded with her hands resting on her hips. She'd stopped in her tracks, so I did the same.  
"Aw, come on. The Golden Girls is on as we speak." Surely that answer spoke for itself? I certainly thought so.  
Temari just sighed, muttered, "kids…" under her breath, and proceeded on her merry way to I-dunno-where.  
"Hey! Hey, wait for me!" I called to her.  
By the time I'd caught up with her, the blonde was sitting at the dining table, nursing a cup of -what looked to be- green tea in both hands. She had her right ankle resting on her left knee as she drummed her fingers around the fine piece of china.  
Since she said absolutely nothing once I'd entered the room, I noisily pulled out the chair across from her and plopped down onto its soft cushion.  
As I opened my mouth to say something, she asked ever so calmly, "So, what's the story about you and my little brother's clothes, mm?" Even though her eyes were closed as she said the words, I could just about picture how devious and cunning they must have looked.  
"Easily explained, sister. That first time I got bored. This second time, that nightie whatever was too ugly to touch my delicate skin. So there!"  
With that, she opened her eyes, gave me a really long look, and began laughing rather softly.  
"The things you say can be really outrageous," she finally remarked, taking a really delicate sip of her tea.  
"Well, anyhow, what are _you_ doing up so early?"  
"I have a lot of work to catch up on," she said matter-of-factly, sounding like she was berating herself. "I bet that lazy bum is still dreaming about clouds…"  
"You mean Shi-dude?" (Hey, his name is too long! All I could remember of it was the 'Shi' part)  
"Ugh! Don't call him that!"  
"I'm sorry. How 'bout the Shi-man?" I offered, making funny hand gestures for… I really don't know why, actually.  
Her fiery glare told me that she didn't find the nickname the least bit amusing.  
"Okay, okay," I gave in. "The Shi-maester?"  
"Cut it out!"  
"Can't a guy get any sleep around here?" someone asked from behind me, causing me to jump in surprise and topple out of my chair.  
"And serves you right, too," said Temari in satisfaction as I was rubbing my sore backside.  
"It's not my fault the man's name is longer than a Foot-Long Subway Sandwich!" I muttered defensively while sitting back down.  
"Longer than a…? Oh, man! This kid's good!" chortled Kankurou. Ah, so that's who startled me out of my chair (literally).  
"Oh, yes. She is a bundle of laughs," Temari quipped darkly.  
"Hey, Kanky! I think your sister is jealous of my wit!" I laughed.  
"Yeah, she… What the!? Don't call me Kanky!"  
"Jeez, are nicknames illegal in this part of the country or what?" I muttered to myself, stifling a tired yawn behind both of my hands.  
It was then that I noticed that Kankurou was eyeing me up and down, and I gave him an unsure look as I said, "Stop staring at me. You're giving me the willies."  
"Aren't those Gaara's pajamas you're wearing?"  
Shucks! There are so many things we can talk about: The not-so-nice weather, how stressful school can be, and… and… well, other stuff. Yet, put on your friend's clothes, and they can't ever shut up about it.  
"I refuse to explain myself for the bajillionth time, and that's that," I said as I crossed my arms over my chest and lifted my chin up defiantly.  
"Whatever," he threw back nonchalantly, although, on closer inspection, I could see that the curiosity was killing him.  
"You're not that dense, are you, Kankurou?" came Temari's voice, a strange smile plastered over her face.  
"Elaborate," the brunette demanded, still looking pretty clueless.  
"Even though she's done nothing but deny it to everyone with working eyes in their heads, she's clearly smitten with our baby brother."  
"Oh, yeah. I've already figured that out," he said with a nod.  
My face had gotten so flushed and warm at the siblings' terrible choice of words that I felt sure I looked like a pumpkin. Still, it isn't too late to save myself.  
"Please! We Gozitans don't get "smitten" with anything or anyone. It's not in our blood." Okay, that wasn't my best effort at all, but you try and come up with something clever at 4 in the morning and with next to no sleep!  
"Then you're obviously the exception to that rule," Kankurou teased wickedly.  
"I don't have to sit here and take this abuse!" I cried as I threw my arms above my head in pure frustration. "Direct me to your nearest TV, please, thank you."  
"Are you crazy, woman?"  
"Good grief! I'm not asking you to rob a bank," I mumbled.  
'Man! Sleeping over at Naruto's place was so much more fun than this nonsense…' I found myself thinking in surprise. I had been so sure that sleeping in a huge mansion would be so cool and everything, but things were far too strict around here for that to hold true. The word 'fun' just didn't seem to belong in this household at all.  
"Well, well… Speak of the devil," chuckled Temari softly, resting her cheek on the palm of her hand.  
'Hmph, that's hardly my favorite expression.'  
"What's everyone doing up?" came an even softer -unmistakable- sleepy-sounding voice.  
"I don't know about them. I just want to watch TV." Now let's see if three times is a charm, shall we?  
"Oh, for Pete's sake! We don't have a TV, okay?! Can't you think of anything else?!" exclaimed Kankurou, his face burning red. Oh dear, I hope he's not going to explode into bits right here and now. That would be tragic, considering he's actually really easy on the eyes.  
"Sure I can. I also think about orange soda and chocolate," I pointed out. Now that I say it, I should totally be given credit for suppressing my utter shock that in a house as huge as this, one would never find something as simple and common as a television set. It's not like they couldn't afford one. Still, can't hurt to ask as to why.  
"So, like, how come y'all don't have one? House rules or something?"  
Kankurou just sighed whilst giving me a, "you're being so annoying" look, and went into the kitchen, whereas Temari shook her head rather impatiently, gave her youngest brother a fond pat on the head, and then she was gone as well.  
"Sheesh! What's their problem? Ask a simple question…" I grumbled as I tucked my hands behind my head.  
Then, totally out of nowhere…  
'Aw, I wish I had my Simba cuddle buddy! I'd have slept like a baby if I had it with me! On toppa that, why are they all being such meanies?'  
Lost as I was feeling sorry for myself, I hadn't noticed that Kankurou had returned to the table. I was brought out from my mental whining when I heard the sound of china being placed on the table. As I looked up, I saw that each of the boys had a nice cup of steaming hot coffee, but…  
'Hey, wait a darned second!'  
"Where's mine?" I demanded, feeling rather insulted.  
"You never asked," was the brunette's best retort.  
"Well, you could have offered, you… you… you rude host!" As an afterthought, I threw in, "Boys are so mean and insensitive. You ask 'em a simple question, and they treat you worse than a comic book villain."  
With that, I crossed my arms on the table and lay my head in them, pretending that I'd started to cry, my shoulders shaking for good effect.  
"Aw, jeez… Come on, don't cry! If it means that much to you, I'll get you some, so stop crying, okay?" Then he was gone again, muttering things about over-sensitive kids and, if I heard correctly, unpredictable hormones.  
Shortly after, I felt a soft tap to my shoulder, but I decided to keep up the charade for a little longer, so I said with a mock sad sigh, "Don't try to sweet-talk me, mister. It won't work."  
"It's your pathetic act that isn't working," came the voice that clearly did NOT belong to Kankurou.  
Hm, was my show really that bad? Oh well, it fooled Gaara's clown of a brother, so it couldn't have been all that terrible. Still…  
"Y-You're such a j-jerk!" I accused, making my lips tremble slightly as I wiped away an imaginary tear.  
"Wha? You managed to make her cry as well? Oh, boy…"  
Once the coffee cup (ooh, pretty blue!) was placed before me, I decided now was as good a time as any to cheer right back up.  
"That's okay, Kanky! I'm over it now," I said (obstinately sticking to the unapproved nickname), mustering the teeniest of grins. After that, I picked up the fancy cup and took a tentative sip. Suddenly, everything began to dance in front of my eyes as I felt my face practically turn green.  
'Wow, that teaspoon makes one heck of a ballerina…'  
Heaving a few deep breaths, one hand covering my mouth, I lowered the fragile item back onto the table and shoved it as far away from me as I could.  
'Ugh, at least the inanimate objects have stopped dancin'. That was just creepy!'  
"What? After all that stupid fuss, you don't even want it now?!" came Kankurou's angry voice.  
"Really…" Gaara this time.  
"I'm sorry, really I am, but that coffee's strong enough to wake up a bear that hadn't hibernated in ever…" (Dear me, even my comebacks are getting lame. Stupid coffee!)  
'Shoulda at least kept my iPod in my pocket. But, no! I just had to go and leave everything in my bag!' After all, nothing, and I mean nothing, makes time fly by faster than really good music.  
"So, like, which one of you dudes has a spare cuddle buddy I can borrow?" I dared to ask.  
"A _what_?!"  
The redhead's response on the other hand simply came in the form of him looking at me like I'm an idiot. Or, hopefully, someone who'd been up too long. Yes, I certainly hope it's the latter.  
"Uh, never mind. That's a girl-thing, anyway."  
"Oooookay, then. I'm just… Well, I'm gonna go now."  
That's how, yet again, I ended up alone with my red-haired friend. To be honest, I can't even count anymore the times that this has happened.  
'Hm, who knew I could be so random when half asleep?' I certainly didn't know this, for, you see, whenever I had trouble sleeping back then, I'd been all by my lonesome.  
"Were you being serious just now?" my friend asked in that deep, yet soft voice of his.  
"As embarrassed as I am to admit it, yes. Nothin' like a cute cuddle buddy to get me to sleep. It even works on thunderstorms," I answered, feeling my cheeks getting warmer by the second. Going on fifteen in a couple of weeks, it sure wasn't easy for me to say that I still needed stuffed toys when I'd have trouble sleeping during a storm.  
'Ah, but at least he doesn't know that I still play with my action-figures when I'm nervous about… Wait… Yes, he does…' I began rambling in my head; boy, but he must think me the world's most eccentric teenager! Maybe he didn't before, but now? No way at all! Nope, none that he didn't think so!  
Suddenly, I heard someone grumbling softly as they approached the room. It went something like this, "That man may be intelligent, but it seems he still has difficulty telling time…" I was left feeling rather surprised upon seeing that the person complaining was the lady of the house herself; hah, I didn't know the woman possessed the ability to talk badly about anyone, considering how kindly she always was.  
She was wrapped up in a delicately tailored silk bathrobe, her feet bundled up in fluffy pink slippers - her lovely hair was now massively sleep-tousled as she tried to comb it with her fingers. Raising her right arm to her face, she gave the cordless phone she was holding a most evil look, as though she would have liked the person that had been on the other end to see just how annoyed she was, then let it fall -noisily- on the table.  
"Is something wrong, Mother?" Gaara asked with a concerned look on his face.  
"As much as I love your uncle, I have just about had it with him calling here at such terrible hours; I don't care if it is his lunch break," replied Karura. As soon as she said that, she added that she needed a nice cup of tea, to which I was quick to request for one, too. I would have offered to make it for her myself, seeing as how tired she looked, but I'm sure she wanted it sometime this week, blessed as I was with the worst sense of direction known to humans.  
Then, hitting me slower than it should have, I got curious about what she'd just said. Turning to face my companion, who was actually looking at the (evil) device with a tiny smile, I asked, "Um, did I hear that correctly? Lunch break?"  
"Yes, he lives in Italy." Now he sounded rather sad. Must be his favorite uncle - certainly looked like he really missed the man, judging from the way he'd sighed just now.  
I was about to ask what this uncle person did for a living, and where exactly in Italy he lived, but before I could, the lady was back with the tea and…  
"Ooh! Biscuits!"  
"Dear, these aren't biscuits," Karura said gently, her bad mood having dissipated somewhat.  
"Oh, fine. European biscuits, then. I can't use American words all the time, you know?"  
For the second time since I was invited over, my friend delivered a painfully sharp kick to my ankle. What's with him, anyway?! It's not like I was being rude or anything!  
"You bocciagalupe! Stop kicking me!" I growled, tossing one of the biscuits (or cookies, whatever) at him.  
"Young lady, I don't want any of that behavior in my house," the woman scolded, daintily lifting her cup to her mouth.  
Hmph, of course she'd take his side! What else is new? However, "As for you, Gaara, I thought I'd taught you better than that. Really, dear."  
The both of us responded by staring at each other for a couple of seconds, aiming menacing glares as we did, then turning our heads in the opposite direction. If he wasn't going to apologize, I certainly wasn't going to, either!  
"Big baby," I muttered under my breath, but hopefully the words were loud enough for him to hear. I was quite satisfied when he shot me one of his dark looks, indicating that he'd heard me all right. Let him sulk at me all he wants, I wasn't scared of him in the slightest.  
Going back a few hours, though, I almost felt like crying. Looking at us now, who would believe for even a second that my good chum had earlier comforted me when I was so down in the dumps and had been ready to cry a monsoon? Even though he has his bad moments - go on, who doesn't? - he truly is a sweetheart.  
'He's too overprotective is what it is,' I realized. Even if I hadn't intended to be rude to Kankurou and their mother, Gaara had obviously seen my words as such.  
"Oh, aren't you two just adorable?" chuckled Karura, spinning the cordless round and round with her fingers.  
"We are?" Funny, I don't really feel all that adorable. Grown-ups, they never know what they're talking about, I swear.  
Before anything else could be said, the phone began ringing again, causing me to jump a bit in surprise. Surely it couldn't be that uncle fellow again, could it?  
The woman sighed in sheer aggravation as she hit the 'answer' button, pressed the communication device to her ear and said, "Yashamaru Barone! If I get another phone call from you this early in the morning, I assure you that you'll feel really glad that you live all the way in Milan!" **Click**  
Goodness, the woman was grumpier in the morning than I could ever be. Who would've thought, huh?  
"That's telling him, Mrs. Sabaku! Brothers are so weak upstairs, if you know what I mean." (Well, they are!)  
"I wouldn't really say that, dear, but I know _my_ brother is really lacking when it comes to a little common sense. For being the top vet in the country, you'd think he'd have at least a little…"  
'Wow… Top vet…? Really?' Now that's impressive.  
I just have to ask…  
"Hey, does that mean he treats your pets for free? Think about that; the best care Italy can offer… FREE!" I began to babble in a most excitable tone.  
"Dear, please keep your voice down," the brown-haired woman frowned at me, hiding the small smile that was beginning to form on her lips behind one fair hand.  
"Sorry," I muttered sheepishly, but, "Go on, does he?"  
The poor woman nearly choked on her tea as her darling son answered my question, rather rudely, I should warn. Here's what he said, "Don't you ever think before you talk? He lives two oceans away from us, and here you are, asking such nonsense…"  
At his last words, she actually did choke, letting out one spluttering cough after another.  
"Whoa! I'll save you, Mrs. Sabaku!" I cried, and quickly made my way to her, patting her on the back once I was at her side.  
She gave me a kind look as she brushed away my hand, breathing properly now. Her face didn't look so kind when she moved her gaze to her son.  
"Apologize to her at once! Honestly, what has gotten into you, child?!"  
"No, really. That's okay. We have these moments _all the time_. Don't we, Gaara? We're worse than those old married couples," I threw in with a little giggle. I was suddenly thinking of my maternal grandparents, who would bicker like this pretty much every single day. (And they love each other very much, just so you know!)  
"Oh? When did you last have such a moment?"  
"A few minutes ago. Ya know, when he kicked me and I threw that cookie at him?"  
"Oh, things were so much nicer back when I was a young girl…" Karura whispered softly.  
I could not believe my ears when the phone rang yet again. If ever an inanimate object sounded insistent, that would be this very phone at this very moment.  
Seeing as Gaara's mother looked more than willing to pick up the ringing "pest" and throw it against the wall (that wouldn't be pretty! No, sir!), I made a grab for it myself and answered it. That's something I never do; answer somebody else's phone? I sometimes have trouble answering the one at home, for Heaven's sake!  
"Hey, uncle chappie. Do you speak English?" I asked, having forgotten that his sister had been speaking to him in English only a few moments ago.  
"Why, yes. Who is this?" answered this amazingly soft voice. He certainly had the voice of a kindly, caring man who loved animals.  
"This is Claire, and I'm speaking on behalf of your sister, who's really cheesed off at you right now. Can I take a message?"  
"I would much rather tell her myself, but she keeps hanging up on me," he grumbled - I am going to take a wild guess here that he's the younger sibling of the two.  
"That's normal behavior when you're calling in the wee hours of the mornin'!" I offered, thinking what a delightful conversation this was. 'I bet he's such a nice man.'  
"But this is the only time I have to call, and I just can't figure out how a computer works for the life of me."  
"Um, just a sec. Don't go anywhere," I gave in as I covered the mouthpiece with one hand.  
"He insists on talking to y…" At her super-stormy look, I nearly wet myself. I didn't even think twice about taking a rain check.  
"I'm going to have to repeat this: Can I take a message?"  
"I will tell you if you give me your word that you'll only breathe word about it to my sister. Are you willing to do that?"  
"Ma, certo." Hee, hee! That's me talking in Italian! (I was telling him yes, by the way)  
"Well…"  
I listened carefully and nodded at his words, until he got to the really big part of his news, at which point I nearly let out this humongous squeal. Ooh, Karura is going to feel _so_ guilty for not listening to her brother. Very guilty, indeed.  
"Now, remember. Not a word, except to…"  
"Your sister, I gotcha!" I assured, unable to stop this fit of the giggles that suddenly struck me.  
"Grazie mille. Ciao."  
"Prego, ciao!"  
With that, I moved the phone aside and said, "He won't be calling again anytime soon. You're welcome."  
"What are you giggling about?" my friend asked, looking only slightly curious.  
"Nothin'… Hee, nothing at all… He's just such a funny man! Isn't he a funny man? He's such a funny man!"  
Oh, dear. Maybe entrusting me with such a secret was the dumbest mistake Karura's brother could have done. It's not that I'm lousy at keeping secrets, far from it. But to keep a secret of this calibre seemed harder than a Math test. (Hey, they are hard!)  
"Since you did finally stop him from calling again, go on. What did he want?" came the lady's soft question.  
"Maybe later," I mumbled, chancing a look at Gaara. "Much, much later."  
"Whatever you wish, dear. Ah, I heard you speak in Italian just now, did I not?" she asked in fascination.  
"I'm pretty much fluent, actually." I didn't mean to sound boastful if I did, but it's one of those things that I'm proud of.  
"It's good to be so dedicated to your studies," said Karura, impressed.  
"I never studied Italian. I picked up the language when I was like four years old. Call it lack of cable but good quality TV programming in Italian."  
"My, my…" was the woman's approval.  
Sadly, before I could gloat a little more about my Italian-speaking skills, she asked something that I never would have figured she'd remember, let alone bring back up.  
"So, how's that cute little play of yours coming along?"  
"Um, play? W-What is this play that you speak of?" I decided to play dumb as I nibbled nervously on a cookie.  
"The one where you, unfortunately, have to play a man," she answered, no doubt thinking that she was being most helpful. Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to tell a fib!  
'Okay, I really need to lay off The Golden Girls!'  
I chanced a look at Gaara, daring to (naively) believe that he'd actually help me out. At that very moment, he gave me such a nasty frown, that I felt thankful that looks could NOT kill…  
"Oh, oh… Er, yeah… Bad news on that. Due to lack of interest, the play's been cancelled." Egh, not really my best effort, but it'll have to suffice.  
"What a shame," she said, sounding quite disappointed.  
"Aw, please! Who wants to play a man, anyways? He didn't even have any funny lines!" Now that's more like it!  
Running a hand through her hair, she turned her head to the antique grandfather clock in the corner of the room. Hey, 5:30 already? Not much point in trying to get some sleep now, is there?  
"I strongly suggest you two go back to bed. We can't have you falling asleep in school, can we?" She almost sounded like she was teasing us, but I wasn't sure.  
"Actually, I don't…" I began, but was quickly interrupted by my redheaded friend, who gripped my wrist -painfully- as he spoke…  
"Let's go," he growled.  
He didn't even say a word to his ma. Jeez, I was feigning it before, but now I truly felt that he was behaving like a complete jerk.  
_Pull, pull. Owie, owie!_  
"Unhand me, you oaf!" I let out a growl of my own, trying to pull my hand free from his. Unfortunately, he seemed to have been gifted with the strongest hold anybody could have on a person. "That's it, I'm giving you to the count of three to let go!"  
He just kept on leading the way to his room, at least I _think_ that's where we're going, not letting a single word fall from his mouth.  
I just couldn't help myself when I asked, voice getting all quivery and nervous-like, "You're being super mean, do you know that?" I also couldn't resist adding, "My nanna would smack you senseless and beyond if she ever found out that you're being so rough with me."  
At last, Gaara let go, indicating that he was now listening to me. His look of anger had dissipated a little, but he looked utterly baffled at what I'd just said.  
"Who?"  
"Ah, I did it again. I meant my grandma. Bad habits die hard, sorry." Well, this is just topsy-turvy! Why am I the one apologizing? He's the one who should be sorry; he ought to be on his knees, grovelling and begging me for my forgiveness.  
'Maybe they're right. Maybe I do watch too much television… O' course, I ain't telling them that!'  
"Let's go," he repeated. I let out a miserable sigh and followed.  
'Never again…'

v-v

So there we were again, in Gaara's room… with some seriously awkward silence to boot. He was sitting on his bed, knees drawn to his chest. I was sitting cross-legged on the futon, pretending to be reading that _Sam & Max_ manual; I realized about ten minutes later that I was holding the book upside down and that my temporary roomie was staring at me, leaving me feeling like a complete imbecile.  
'Oh, whatever! Who did I think I was fooling, anyhow?' I thought to myself, carelessly tossing the thin paperback across the room.  
"'Kay, old buddy. You got exactly three minutes to explain your freaky behavior earlier. And… go!"  
He responded by lowering his head so that his forehead rested against his knees. Man, why am I always alone with him when stuff like this happens? I'm not used to this sort of thing, so I really had no clue on how I could help.  
"Okay, okay, fine. If you're so mad at me, even though I don't believe I was being rude to your ma, I'm sorry. Happy now?"  
That was a rhetorical question, but, "No."  
What can I say, except: D'oh!  
"Then will you please tell me what I did wrong? Cuz believe me when I say this, I'm upset, too."  
"You lied to her again," was all he said in his soft voice.  
"Well, what did you expect me to tell her? Do you remember who jumped on whom? Would you rather I told her that side of the story?" Hm, maybe I'm being too harsh, but I'm sure he saw my point. That's not the kind of truth his mom would have wanted to hear, even though the real culprit in my eyes would never ever be Gaara.  
"No, I guess not," he whispered.  
Uh, man… What can I possibly do or say to get him out of this slump he'd suddenly fallen into? Let's see…  
"Hey, wanna call Naruto and Lee and pretend that we're ghosts and have haunted their phone?" I tried feebly.  
My friend raised his head, looking rather appalled. He certainly looked to be at a loss for words. With a shake of his head, he lay his head on the pillow and kept his back to me.  
There, it's official. I suck at being a good friend and cheer-upper, if that's even a word.  
Feeling like my well of humor had dried up completely and wouldn't fill up again for at least the rest of the day, I decided to kill the time by browsing through his collection of books, which was a rather impressive one if I must say so. A lot of his stuff consisted of classic literature, but as I reached the third shelf, I let out a most delighted gasp.  
'H-He must have every single book Dean Koontz ever wrote! Oh, wow! I must borrow one!'  
Having chosen a title (_Sole Survivor_), I walked over to my friend, and sat myself down next to him. He either didn't notice or was trying to ignore me, but I didn't want to have any of that, because I'd had it up to here.  
"Hey, look, look! We love the same author, look!"  
To make doubly sure that, if he was doing so, he could no longer ignore me, I placed the book in front of his face (aha! His eyes are open! He certainly was not sleeping!) and began poking him in a most annoying manner on his shoulder.  
His actions in response to my pestering came in the following order: he gently took the novel from my hand, got back up to a sitting position -which allowed me to sit more comfortably near him- and read the title out loud.  
'Gosh… Forget borrowing it… With a voice like his, I'd beg him to read it to me…' This thought caused me to giggle so much, that I had to cover my mouth and pretend that I just had a bad case of the hiccups. Not that there were any bouts of hiccups to my knowledge that went like this - hee hee hic ha, hee hee hic ha…  
After having made sure that I no longer had any more 'hiccups' plaguing my body, I placed my left pinky under my favorite author's name and said, "His work is what inspired me to start my own writing."  
I didn't really expect him to say anything, and he certainly didn't disappoint there, but I did think he'd have been a _tad_ impressed with what I'd just confided in him that I wouldn't in anyone else. Alas, if he was even remotely so, he didn't show it.  
Feeling generous, I decided to speak for him, "Why, Claire, you're such a clever girl. How careless of me to not have noticed earlier just how smart you are."  
"Aw, aren't you sweet?"  
At this, he gave me a look so blank that I truly felt tempted to grab a pen and draw his lost features back onto his face. I mean, is this guy ever going to learn how to lighten up or what?  
When the storm had hit earlier, I had so many thoughts swirling and tumbling in my mind that I hadn't paid much attention to it, but now that I had calmed down somewhat and no longer felt distracted, my fears came back to me with a vengeance as this extra-loud thunder crash caused me to squeal in surprise and latch onto Gaara, face buried in his chest.  
"T-The floor m-moved! Did you feel it? I-It honest to goodness m-m-moved!" I whimpered in fright.  
Apparently, my scaredy cat attitude was what had been needed all along for my companion to regain his voice.  
"There's nothing to be scared of. Nothing moved." He didn't even sound patronizing or anything; on one hand, I felt rather comforted, but…  
"It did too…! I-I felt it…"  
To be honest, and as shameful as it was for me to admit it, I was truly frightened that he'd let go, as though his arms were actually protecting me from the wrath of the storm. How childish I must seem, to be acting like a clingy five-year-old who's still afraid of the dark and monsters in the closet. As luck would have it, I didn't have much longer to ponder these embarrassed thoughts, because a knock had suddenly sounded on my friend's door, and I, in record-breaking speed, jumped as far away from him as I could, hopping agitatedly from one foot to the other.  
I wasn't sure if permission had been given to enter, but I saw the door opening, and in came a most excited Kankurou, of all people.  
"What's with that dopey look on your face?"  
"Why are you hopping like a deranged bunny rabbit?"  
"Touché!" was all that was left in me, and I threw myself on the futon and contented myself with the company of Mr. Pillow.  
Even though the storm was still raging outside and I was scared out of my mind, I was also curious and quite intrigued by the brunette's sudden change in mood. I didn't have to ask him what was going on, though, because he more than readily provided his reason.  
"Gaara, you are _never_ going to believe who's drinking coffee in our kitchen!"  
"Ooh, is it Will Smith?" I tried hopefully. Then again, it could very well be, "Whoopi Goldberg?!" or, "You don't personally know Mr. Don Henley, do you?!"  
"Honestly, you're such a kid…! No, man, it's Dawn! Dawn Tribal! I knew today was to be my lucky day!"  
Wait, hold it. Did I hear the guy correctly? Dawn Tribal, the loud waitress at that coffeehouse? Here? But, what on Earth would she be doing here, and at this time of the morning?  
Again, Kankurou gave the answer before either of us could ask him. "She was on her way to work, but the storm got the best of her. Next thing you know, she's in our house, asking if she can use our phone. Isn't this great?!"  
'Yeah, great. As long as she doesn't come within a mile of Gaara, then it'll be peachy keen!' I inwardly grumbled, feeling quite awkward at this strange turn of events.  
That, of course, wasn't to be; just as the thought had entered my brain, the girl in question had found her way to my redheaded friend's room, holding a mug in one hand and the cordless firmly pressed to her ear.  
"I'm telling you, boss! That storm's a killer! Now, I don't know about you, but I don't want to go back out there and risk getting struck by lightning. Why, think of the many, many men I'd leave devastated!" She paused for breath, then, "I'll be there as soon as it lets up, and not a minute sooner. Besides, my Terrence would have some choice things to say to you if you'd let anything happen to me. I know it, you know it, all our patrons know it…"  
"I didn't know it," I threw in, hand raised slightly.  
The strange girl was still chattering animatedly with her boss, when she suddenly noticed Gaara was in the same room as she was.  
'Oh, boy…'  
"Well," she said, dropping the phone casually onto my lap, the boss man still shouting from the other end, "didn't think I'd run into you here, you handsome devil, you!" I almost wanted to throw up as she gave him this really flirtatious wink. Don't ask me how a wink can be flirty, but hers certainly was. With that, she handed the mug back to a most astonished Kankurou, and plopped herself next to an equally uncomfortable Gaara.  
'Hey, wait a second…'  
"Just a minute, there! What about this Terrence bloke you just mentioned?" I demanded, not really caring about the moral ethics of the situation. I was merely hoping to make her feel guilty enough so that she'd back off.  
"Aw, there's certainly nothing wrong with a little flirtin'! If I didn't do that at least every day, well, it's just not healthy. Besides, Terrence lives on the other side of the globe, and if he thinks that I can't talk to another man besides him, especially now, he's got another thing coming."  
'Gee, how is it that this girl can say so much in one go? Then again, I sure hope Kankurou isn't too disappointed.'  
"When you say flirting, does that include the occasional lunch or dinner?" came said boy's eager question, that dopey look still plastered all over his face.  
"Naw, but I won't stop you from trying. Just know that I wouldn't cheat on my Terrence for anything in the universe."  
"Oh, well, shoot! That means you will still have to leave 'many, many men' just devastated," I teased, feeling relieved that she already had a boyfriend, and was loyal to no one but him.  
"Yeah, it's a pity, but life must go on. Isn't that right, cutie?" Now she was rubbing circles on my friend's cheek with her index finger.  
Wow… Where ever did she get all that confidence and charisma? She sets her eyes on someone, and off she goes. I sincerely felt doubtful that she even knew what the word 'intimidation' meant. How lucky to be like that, instead of always cowering from a distance…  
"Excuse me, but I believe I need to have a word with a certain backstabbing brother of mine," interrupted Kankurou, his voice icy cold.  
Without any room for argument, the older sibling grabbed him by the sleeve of his clothes and dragged him from out of the room.  
"You know, I don't think the guy ever listened to me the two dozen times I've told him that I'm not interested in him. Anyways, I'd better scram now that the rain's beginning to let up nicely," said Dawn quite cheerfully, tucking her hands behind her head as she walked confidently out of the room.  
'…Eh, at least the floor stopped moving…'

v-v

After Dawn had left, and Gaara had reassured his lovestruck brother that he wasn't after his girl, things were pretty uneventful.  
The weather was so calm now, you would never have believed that just a while ago, there had been a storm that looked like it could have been strong enough to tear the manor completely off its foundation. The sky was now a really nice light blue with a few wispy clouds rolling by; there was a most gentle breeze making the tree branches sway slowly, and I could hear a couple of birds chirping happily away.  
It was still about 7 in the morning, but Gaara and I had already left the house, on our way to Naruto's place so that I could (finally!) get my stuff back. My friend also had kept his word, and his clothes were once again wrapped most comfortably around me. It's true, they were far too big for me, but nothing like a bit of rolling up of the sleeves and leggings wouldn't fix.  
It was a most silent walk, but for once, I was enjoying it. Dawn wasn't really interested in Gaara, the scary earthquake-like storm was over, I got me a new game to play, I was wearing Gaara's clothes, and did I mention that Dawn isn't really interested in Gaara?  
Before long, we were standing in front of Naruto and Lee's apartment door, which was opened by the latter.  
"Good morn… What _are_ you wearing?"  
"You have eyes, Lee. You know what I'm wearing," I answered as I made my way inside and practically pounced on my backpack, pouring all the contents out onto the coffee table.  
I had completely forgotten about the photograph Naruto had taken the other day, the photo that contained Gaara and myself in a most, um, friendly position. My eyes widened in utter horror as it now lay on the floor for all to see, cruelly reminding me of its existence.  
'Argh, Naruto!'  
"What is that?"  
Gaara…  
"S-Shopping list!" I managed, grabbing it quickly before he could get a clear view of it and tossing it back at the very bottom of the bag, hopefully to never see the light of day again.  
After I had packed everything back up, I realized that two things were missing from my stuff. My phone, and also my precious iPod.  
"Where's Naruto?" I asked, my voice sounding a bit sharper than intended.  
"He is still getting ready. Let me get you some tea," Lee offered in his 'gracious host' manner.  
"I don't want tea! I want Naruto!" I yelled out, surprising both of my friends. Hey, I've told them time and again I'm not a morning person. I can't help it.  
"Aw, I missed you, too!" As a familiar voice hit my ears, I felt two strong arms wrap around my waist.  
"Let go, you doofus! And give me my stuff back!"  
"Yes, your Highness!"  
Within a few minutes, the hyperactive blonde returned, placing the coveted items into my hands.  
As I was checking my phone to see that it was still okay, he asked, "What's with the goofy getup?"  
"Goofy? These are sophisticated, regal, fancy, fine pieces of clothing!" I challenged back.  
"On Gaara it's fancy stuff, on you it's just goofy."  
"You're just jealous."  
"Why the heck would I be jealous?"  
"Because I'm wearing expensive clothes and slept in a giant mansion, and you never have!"  
"Like I care. We're fine right here, aren't we, Lee?"  
"Do not drag me into your arguments, Naruto," was the boy's calm response.  
"Let me ask you this, why is there a picture of your foot on my phone?" I asked, deleting the stupid image.  
Naruto rubbed the back of his head meekly as he answered, "I got bored. Power went out again, and I couldn't get your fancy game thingy to work, so…"  
"You mean my iPod?"  
"What kind of dumb name is that for a game?"  
"It's a music player, not a game," I said, my face going rather blank.  
"Oh, okay! Who wants breakfast?"  
"I've said it once, I've said it twice even, and I'll say it again. You have the attention-span of a pencil-sharpener."

v-v

It turns out that I had nothing left in my wallet but loose change, so I was going to have to pay Gaara back later. It did make me feel quite guilty, but it was simply out of my control for the time being. He of course assured me that it was perfectly fine, but it really did nothing to ease my guilt. It's just how I am.  
Anyway, we were now sitting by the main gates of the school, and were in fact the first ones there. The next person to arrive was the upbeat Sari, followed by her friend, Matsuri. The taller of the girls was laden with shopping bags, as well as her companion, who looked rather embarrassed.  
"Ah, don't you just love early Christmas shopping? How relaxing," smiled Sari.  
"I don't really care for early _morning_ Christmas shopping, though," muttered Matsuri, "How ever did you manage to buy all of this in half an hour, anyway?" At her question, she raised the bags above her head.  
'Sari's a shopaholic? Go figure.'  
"That, my friend, is a tip-top family secret," she snickered, tapping her cheek with her index finger.  
"They're never going to let us take this stuff inside the school."  
"Have I ever steered you wrong, Matsuri?"  
"Yes, last night."  
"What in tarnation are you wearing!?" Sari was suddenly shouting in my face, not really bothering to mask her surprise; or was that envy? I wasn't sure.  
"I'm wearing clothes. What are YOU wearing?" I threw back at her.  
"We gotta have a girl to girl talk, right now," she demanded, dragging me over to her friend, who had been left guarding about seven shopping bags.  
'That's funny. Naruto was saying something like that to Gaara this morning, but he said there was no time for that. Is this for the same thing?'  
Once we'd stopped moving, she said, "Okay, spill! Who made the first move?"  
First move on what? Was she asking me about chess?  
"Were there flowers involved?"  
Huh, flowers?  
"Was there any holding of hands?"  
What the heck are they talking about?!  
"What about poetry? Oh, I just love a man who's poetic…!"  
"I don't-"  
"Must have been so romantic! Oh, man, I hate you! Able to net a guy as sweet, charming and handsome as Gaara the moment you meet him!" After those words had left her mouth, Sari shoved a fist into the palm of her right hand.  
"Stop it! There was none of that stuff! What kind of romantic drivel have you been reading?!"  
'Hm, I do like to read romantic drivel, but they don't have to know that.'  
"So it was just a quiet evening of cuddling with the occasional stolen kiss?"  
I swear if my face got any redder and hotter, I could pass off as a tomato. Or maybe a kettle, because I felt absolutely sure that steam was shooting out of my ears…  
"Aw, you are blushing! Isn't that so cute, Matsuri?" The girl now had both palms pressed to her cheeks, looking really giddy.  
"Not for the reasons you're thinking, I swear! This was on a… a… dare! Yes, that's it! It was just a dare!"  
"What? Really?" asked both girls.  
I only had enough energy left to give them a small nod.  
"Shi… How boring… That's what you get when you have guys for friends…"  
"Huh? Don't you two have any guy friends?" was my curious question. I suddenly began to ponder if it was normal after all for a girl to have boy friends but no girl friends.  
"Jeepers, no!" Matsuri said, blushing herself.  
"Not me. Can't handle 'em like that," Sari continued, retying her bandana.  
'Is it me, or does she sound proud about it?' I wondered with a finger pressed to my chin.  
"What will you be doing after school, then?"  
"Hang around at home, probably. I've done some major neglect on unpacking my belongings, so…"  
"Great! Count me in to help out!" the longhaired girl bounced energetically, both hands held up high.  
"Er, yay…"  
"Heavens, I am so excited! Just excited! Words can't even begin to describe just how… excited I am!" came the sound of a most cheerful voice.  
"Mist, admit it. You're excited, aren't you?" followed another, female this time. At first, I mistook it for his sister's voice, but upon looking up, there stood Mist sure enough; the girl walking with him was average in height, with brown hair held in two buns and chocolate brown eyes.  
'Wow, she looks cool! Kind of like an Oriental princess!'  
"Come now, this is the greatest thing to ever happen in the history of this school! Deep down, you're as excited as I am!"  
"Yep, you got me," she replied most sarcastically.  
Eventually, they stopped to stand by me and the Romance Twins. Beginning to regret my silly bargain with my friend, I prayed with all my might that they wouldn't ask the same thing everyone else had asked if they chose to speak to me. Making them jealous was one thing, but being treated like I'm a dipstick is another matter altogether.  
"Hey, cool threads. Must be a European thing to always look so nice," Mist greeted, quite sounding like he meant what he was saying, much to my surprise. His garnet red eyes were twinkling in a way that made him seem less goofy than he initially appeared.  
"Um, you were saying something about excitement?" I attempted, just wanting the conversation to steer away from clothes and boys and lovey-dovey stuff.  
"Ah, yes. The music teacher told me yesterday that the school has bought a brand new piano! It's to be delivered next week!" he announced, flailing his arms like there was no tomorrow. "And I'm gonna make sure that it'll be me who gets to tune it and play it first!"  
"Yeah… Don't expect that the line will be long or anything," his companion giggled, giving him a light smack on the back.  
"Must you always be so sarcastic and clever? Being sick for a week did nothing to cool you there, did it?" grumbled the boy, playing with his loose ponytail.  
"Oh, that reminds me. Your hair come down at all while I was away?"  
"What kinda weird question is that?" I whispered to Matsuri, who was the one closest to me.  
"He wears his hair a certain way, depending on his mood. And he only wears it loose if he's really angry or upset," she whispered back.  
"Nope. I've been as cheery as you please," he chuckled.  
"Please, you act more cheery than this, and you could apply for a job as Mary Poppins' sidekick!"  
This girl is _really_ good. I hoped there and then we could become friends. I could really learn a lot from her. As friendly and bubbly as Sari was, I'd rather hang out with the girl in buns. At least I didn't feel as shy and awkward now that she was around, joking away.  
"By the way, I didn't catch your name there," she turned to me.  
"Claire, pleased to meet you."  
"TenTen, Mist's unfortunate childhood friend."  
"I'm the one who's always facing the wrath of that sharp tongue of yours; I'm the unfortunate one!" her friend interrupted.  
"You can tell me all about your 'lovely' clothes during recess," she winked, ignoring the tall teenager completely.  
'Shoot!'

v-v

"Oh, where is that baby sister of mine? If she doesn't hurry up, she'll be late… again."  
Argh! We've been sitting in homeroom for about five minutes, and in that time, Mist has said that sentence exactly thirty times. (I got bored, and had nothing better to do than listen to the boy's whining about his precious sister being late) I would've liked to point out to him how irritating it was that we students were given such a tough time whenever we were late for class, even if it couldn't be helped, yet the teachers acted like nothing had happened if _they_ were late.  
In today's case, this particular teacher was rather tardy, but, frustratingly, I would never have the guts to tell them so.  
Anyway, as much as I wanted to say this to him, I couldn't stop staring at my fingers thumping on the desk as I firmly held my tongue. I could feel all of the girls' eyes on me, and hardly in the ways I had wanted last night, no, sir. I didn't want them to look at me as though I'd gone crazy, or like they wanted to pummel me with their books, and I most certainly did not care for how a lot of them were so obviously tempted to laugh their heads off at me.  
'What in the name of all that is sacred was I thinking? Oh, I'm doomed!'  
Deciding I couldn't take their nasty stares any longer, I grabbed my iPod and headphones from my bag, and hit the _play_ button, not really caring on what song it landed, as long as it took my mind completely off my fellow (and way mean) students.  
'Yay! White Reflection! Awesome!'  
Unconsciously, I began bobbing my head up and down whilst drumming on the desk's surface to the pulsating music.  
The song had barely played for a minute, after which I felt several taps on my shoulder and head. Impatiently, I removed the headphones and lay them on my lap, looking at the pestering youths uncertainly.  
"I demand to know what you're listening to that's so catchy, and I wanna know _now_," said the peach-haired girl in a bossy voice.  
"Me too, me too!" That was Sari.  
"Don't forget me," butted in Ino.  
"Don't shove me, Ino-pig!" And there's Sakura. (Hey, I seem to be getting quite good with names after all)  
"I did no such thing, large-forehead!"  
"Jeez, relax already. I'm listening to TWO-MIX. Satisfied?" I attempted, rubbing my temples.  
"I wanna listen!" exclaimed Tayuya, making a grab for the player.  
"Oh no, you don't! I saw it first!" Ino proclaimed, snatching it up.  
"As if!" Tayuya argued back, pulling it from the other side.  
"Um, excuse me?" I tried in rather a meek voice, which only resulted in the two girls pulling on the device even harder.  
**Don't you just hate it when people ignore you? Fess up; you hate it, don't you? You always have.**  
'I sure do.'  
**Then say something for once! Don't be such a fraidy cat all the time!**  
'Okay, I'll do it!'  
"HEY!" I screamed out so loudly that everyone looked at me in shock. It was quite effective in causing Ino and Tayuya to loosen their grips, so I quickly took it away from them and pocketed it.  
Clearing my throat, I explained, "No one touches my things without my permission first, capisch?"  
"Ha! I never need people's permission for anything, and you'd better get used to it," Tayuya said in that lazy drawl of hers.  
"Say, is this teacher bloke usually this late? Sure hope he's okay," I said suddenly. After all, fifteen minutes is quite a long time. Maybe the guy had gotten hurt or something.  
"He'll show up when he shows up. You never know when, but you can be sure it's never on time," Ino replied, her blue eyes never leaving the pocket in which I'd stored my player.  
'Darn, why is it that the only girls I've made jealous wanna beat me up? It just isn't fair…'  
As I was chiding myself for the umpteenth time, the door slowly opened, and everyone made a beeline to their seats. They all sighed in relief when they saw it was only Young, fashionably late but with luck definitely on her side, since our teacher was yet to show up.  
Her eyes widened a touch when she noticed me, making her look rather funny. Those eyes of hers, a lovely forest green, were already impossibly large, and, I realized, quite expressive. Her clothes were rather simple compared to what she had worn yesterday, and, if I was seeing correctly, it was all covered in multi-colored hairs. How odd.  
"'Sis, there you are! You should certainly count your blessings that old-man Kakashi is always so late," Mist shouted out, waving to her.  
"I got caught up and lost track of the time. Good thing Mr. Kakashi never lets us down, huh?"  
"Why, thank you, Miss Young. Your sweet words always make my job worthwhile," a man at the door said, seemingly appearing from out of nowhere.  
"Zoinks!" she yelped, and rushed to her seat, her hand resting on her chest as she breathed deeply.  
Did the girl just say 'zoinks'? Isn't she supposed to be this high-class, sophisticated, violin-playing diva? Since when do people like that say 'zoinks'? What a strange, unpredictable young lady.  
As her desk happened to be right next to mine (joy), I was able to hear her mutter under her breath, "I'll get him to talk to me today, even if it's the last thing I do."  
'Oh, dear. She'd better not be talking about Gaara. I simply have no chance against someone like her,' I worried, resting the palm of my hand under my chin.  
"Now, then. Let's begin."  
"Begin?! Class is almost over!" Naruto burst out.  
"Shut it, Naruto! Don't talk to Mr. Kakashi like that," rang out all the girls together, including the feisty Tayuya.  
Wow, if they reacted like that to what my friend had justifiably said, imagine what they might have done to me if I had had the courage to berate our teacher for being as late as he was. Admittedly, the man was ridiculously handsome and had really beautiful, mysterious dark eyes, but go on! That doesn't excuse tardiness!  
"Ahem, anyway," Kakashi started over, for some reason turning his head to me, "I've decided to make today's history lesson quite special."  
"You're giving us free period! I knew it, I knew you were the kindest teacher in the world!" Mist said jovially.  
"Hm, sorry, Mist. Not today." At this, he closed his eyes and smiled, causing the ladies to swoon in a most lovesick fashion.  
"Come on, don't beat around the bush! What do you have for us, you old coot?" demanded Naruto, which earned him a well-aimed pencil case to the side of his head.  
Not missing a beat, Kakashi announced, "We're going to do a little history lesson on the country of Malta. It, after all, has a most interesting story to it." Ohhh… That's why he was looking at me like that…  
"Don't you have anything to say to Mr. Kakashi?" asked one of the girls, giving me a rather fiery glint.  
'I have, indeed: Boring!'  
"Erm, can't think of anything more special than that…"

v-v

Whoa, I tell you what, whoa! I never was much of a history person, but to have a history lesson about my country as some kind of treat was just whack. On top of that, everyone, including my ever reliable Naruto, acted like I ought to feel honored or something, but I actually felt really embarrassed. If the teacher wanted to do some European history lessons, that was fine by me, but I didn't want them to happen just because I started to attend the school. I wanted to be treated the same as everybody else period.  
'And it would be about time, too…'  
After the morning lessons were done, I went off to one of the water fountains to get a much needed drink. No sooner had my fingers touched the cool metal of the tap, then I felt someone give me a push.  
Turning round, I felt the blood drain from my face when I saw Meno had managed to find me.  
'She's going to make a killer spy one of these days.'  
"Nice clothes. New store for losers opened up?" she greeted, hands resting on her hips.  
"Sure, sure. It's right next to the mall for bad comebacks," I managed to say, doing my best to keep my short fuse of a temper in check.  
Unbeknownst to the both of us, someone else happened to be in the corridor, and she decided to make her appearance just as Meno opened her mouth to say something, most likely to give me her first order of the day.  
"What's this thing here?" asked the newcomer, taking hold of the piece of paper in the blonde's hand.  
"Hey, that's mine!" she shouted in outrage.  
"I don't think so. I'd recognize your terrible, childish handwriting in a jiffy, and this most definitely isn't yours," my savior said most calmly, giving me a wink.  
'Wow! Mist's friend is righteous!'  
"It most certainly is mine. Now hand it over!"  
"Then if it's yours, you've been pretending all along to hate Gaara's guts, no? Who knew, you rascal!" TenTen snickered at the sickened look on Meno's face.  
"Give me a break! Who'd ever like that stupid freak show? The very idea…"  
What that 'very idea' was I may never know, because I never let her finish. I could just barely keep myself in control with her bullying me, but when she dared to insult my friend yet again in front of me, I completely lost it.  
'Oh, that does it! Those are fighting words!'  
Unable to stop myself, I raised my hand and backhanded her with all my strength across the face. This action shocked me senseless, but it was hardly enough to calm my fury, even if…  
'D-Did I just hit her?! I'm supposed to abhor violence!'  
**And yet, you'd do it again if you had to. Of course, you'd only do it for…**  
'N-No way! You be quiet!'  
Meno lifted her palm up to rest against her skin where I'd hit her, giving me a ferocious glare.  
Not backing down, I growled, "I gave you a good and proper warning before never to insult Gaara again, did I not? You had it coming. Plus, you can report me to the principal all you want. Sticking up for my friend was worth it."  
"You little brat. I'll make you pay for this. You wait and see if I don't," she said through gritted teeth as she walked away.  
"Ooh, so scary," TenTen and I said in unison. At that, we shared a sideways glance, smiling slightly. We both raised one arm and high-fived each other. "Yeah!"

v-v

"Tee hee, that look on her face when you let her have it…! I thought I was going to pass out, it was so funny!"  
"I suppose," I humored her, not really feeling as enthusiastic as she was.  
"Hey, now. You should be more upbeat than that. How you stuck up for Gaara like that; that's what I call friendship," TenTen said, nodding her head up and down.  
'My blackmailing problem being solved like that seemed too easy. I know it's not over.'  
Speaking of which…  
"That paper. You still have it?" I asked eagerly. Eager to tear it into tiny, little, microscopic shreds, that is.  
"Yup, here," she said, handing it over to me. Then she tossed in, "You really have high standards, eh?"  
"Say what?"  
"Let's see - tall, handsome, regal, sophisticated, strong voice. Ah, not to mention, insanely rich," she counted on her fingers.  
"Tch, you left out the best features," I mumbled, trusting the brunette not to be a big blabbermouth.  
"Oh, what did I miss?" she questioned, raising her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She propped her head atop her kneecaps, appearing to enjoy the conversation.  
"He's charming, intelligent, sensitive, and he's just so kind," I said in a whispery voice, thinking about last night.  
**And gentle, don't forget gentle.**  
There's that annoying voice in my head again…  
**Not to mention comforting!**  
'Okay, I get the point…'  
**And how could you forget that he's…**  
'No, he's not! Shut up!'  
**Fess up! You've fallen for him, head over heels!**  
'Quiet!'  
"Gee, if that doesn't say you're smitten with the guy, nothing will," whispered TenTen, putting a stop (thank goodness) to the psycho argument I was having with myself.  
I had done nothing but deny it to everyone that noted what seemed to be the obvious, but this didn't seem to be needed with TenTen. How lucky I was to have met this girl. But I wasn't going to have this conversation be strictly about me, so…  
"What about you? Anybody you're interested in?"  
"Nope. What's the hurry, anyways? We're still young."  
She sure made a good point. At fourteen, one shouldn't really be thinking too much about dating and stuff, and I certainly had never thought of these things at all. Not until I met my new friends, at least.  
'Not until I met Gaara…'  
"Oh, look. There's still just enough time for you to tell me about those nice clothes you're wearing," the brown-haired girl piped up.  
Aw, shucks. And here I thought she'd forgotten all about these stupid robes!  
"You know, I have no idea. It seemed like it would be fun at the time, but you lot have made it very hard for me to actually feel that way. Of all the times that Gaara decides not to be firm," I rambled.  
"If you ask me, he sure was a good sport about it."  
"Yeah, he was a good sport, and I'm Tina Turner's long-lost little sister."  
"Hey, that's clever. I'm going to have to remember that one."  
"Nah, you're good," I said with a small wave. I was about to add more to it, when suddenly I heard a loud squeal, which was then followed by another, and another.  
"WOW! IT'S HIM!"  
"HE'S SO DREAMY!"  
"LET'S GRAB HIM, GIRLS!"  
TenTen jumped up, clearly not having expected the loud banshee screams.  
"Good grief? Who could they be fawning over this time?" she muttered, now sounding most annoyed. Okay, maybe she expected the screams after all, or something of the sort.  
"Hey, let's find out," I suggested, already following in the direction from where I heard the shouting.  
Getting to this 'so dreamy' person didn't take long at all, and I found myself standing shocked in front of the group of girls I had seen when I first went out to lunch with the guys. I had completely forgotten about them, come to think of it. With that said, it certainly was less of a surprise when I noticed who was at the center of these bundles of bubbly energy.  
"Mah, I should have known," my brunette friend mumbled, putting a hand to her brow and closing her eyes.  
"Does this happen a lot?" I was about to ask, but then I changed my mind, and decided that getting my chum away from these scavengers would be the more logical thing to do. I can always ask later.  
Nodding once, I raised my voice as high as it could go, "LOOK! IT'S LEONARDO DICAPRIO!"  
One of them, who had been clinging to Gaara's arm for dear life, quickly looked up. She seemed to recognize me from earlier, but I couldn't be entirely sure, because before long she demanded, "Where?! Where?!"  
"That way!" I generously offered, pointing behind me.  
"Wait! Marry me, Leo!"  
"No, me!"  
"I saw him first!"  
Like a herd of sheep, they ran fast towards where they hoped they were going to find their dream man.  
TenTen had her arms crossed over her chest now, shaking her head. "Vultures…"  
"None too bright, either. I can't believe they fell for _that_."  
"I hope you're satisfied with yourself."  
Now THAT I did not expect. A minor thank you; perhaps. A pat on the shoulder; why not? A gruff, even scornful accusation; certainly not!  
"And just what the heck is that supposed to mean? I just saved your neck back there," I growled.  
"Gotta admit, I'm lost myself," joined in TenTen.  
"I have not had a moment's peace since we entered the school," he growled back.  
Oh, sure. It's now cool to blame it on your friends when you're having a bad day. That's really becoming! Oh, if only I had the courage to say it out loud, if only!  
"And it's her fault because…?" TenTen sounded quite defensive. I guess we girls really do stick together, no matter what the cause.  
The redhead said nothing, merely fingered the clothes I was wearing for a few seconds. Well, now, that's hardly fair. He's as much to blame as I was for this mess! After all, he gave in too easily.  
"I have to say that you got it all wrong. If anything, this whole thing is your fault," I tossed, quite coldly I hate to admit.  
Now he looked really enraged. He was literally shaking, he looked so angry.  
"Are you brave enough to repeat what you just said?"  
"Wait! Wait! Making threats is not cool!" My friend had both hands clasped to her face; she looked absolutely torn on what she should do. I, on the other hand, wasn't going to fall flat on my face now.  
"Think about it for a second. None of this would have happened if you had said no, and stuck with it."  
"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" TenTen shouted out, pressing a hand each to our chests. Gosh, brave girl, she is. "How can you two talk to each other like that? You're supposed to be friends!"  
Poor TenTen, she didn't know the half of it, did she?  
"And after she stuck up for you with that wench, Meno!"  
"What?" Never had I heard anyone sound so genuinely touched with the utterance of just one word. Never.  
"TenTen…" I warned.  
"She hit her and everything," she continued, ignoring me on purpose.  
"I did not!" I protested with a gulp, keeping my head down all the while. Other things friends aren't supposed to do include intentionally embarrassing each other, which is what _she_ was doing at this very moment.  
"You hit Meno?"  
Why does he sound so shocked? Does he not think me strong enough? Or brave enough? He should know by now I'd do anything for my friends, even if what I had done then had gone against everything I stand for.  
"I just said that I didn't! TenTen obviously was daydreaming or something."  
"Not your best effort, my dear," said girl teased, now feeling better.  
**She's right.**  
'Shuttie!'  
"But, why?"  
"Well, this is what happened…"  
"TenTen, stop 'helping'… Please!" Ooh, I hate it when I'm reduced to this. Me, begging… How awful…  
"I'm sorry. Would you rather tell him the story?" she asked with a sunny smile.  
"There's no story to tell. I did not hit her. Gaara, who are you going to believe? This dreamer, or your friend?"  
Were my ears broken, or was the guy laughing? Pulling on my earlobes a little, I realized that he indeed was. A soft, almost indiscernible laugh, but it was still there. It certainly didn't stop him from providing me with an answer.  
"You have lied to me quite a few times since we met."  
"They were minor white lies. They don't count!"  
**Yes, they do. I thought you learned that when you were two.**  
'Hey! Don't make me come in there!'  
"Answer me," came his command. At least he was gentle about it.  
Nervously clearing my throat, I obeyed, "S-She called you a… a freak show, and I got angry." I couldn't say any more than that. I'd have liked to, but I simply could not.  
"Ugh, anyone can make it sound so boring," grumbled the brown-haired girl.  
"Don't you have a childhood friend you should be bothering?"  
"Even I know not to bother Mist when he's at the piano. You never want to interrupt him when he's playing that thing." If I must be honest, I wasn't entirely sure if she was being truthful or if she was just saying it to try and scare me.  
'I had better not risk it.'  
I didn't have long to contemplate it anyway, for the bell rang just then. Words cannot describe just how relieved I felt at that time. I could finally get away from this awkward situation, and back under the teachers' scrutinizing stares. Teachers don't tease their students. Not that I knew of, anyway.  
"'Kay! I'm gone!" I shouted to them, then made a dash towards the incoming crowds. I'd sooner face them, as claustrophobic as they made me, than my two friends as things stood.  
'I'm such a coward…'

End Chapter 7

Finally, huh? FINALLY! This chapter gave me a lot of grief, and I'm far from being satisfied with it. I hope to really deliver next time round.  
Heh, I had so much fun writing Karura as this cranky not morning person. Still, who would sound happy being woken up by the phone at four in the morning, right? I may be wrong about the age, but here, Yashamaru is a bit younger than Karura. For some reason, I see him as that. Plus, I knew when I'd put him in, it'd be as someone in the medical profession, but I didn't want him to be a doctor. I felt that would be a bit predictable, so I made him a vet instead. Our animal friends need care, too!  
Fact; that there in the story regarding my fluency in Italian is all true. Back when I was a little girl, cable TV was something that did not exist (and somehow, we had more variety than we have today), and the only thing my brother and I could watch in English was the news. However, our Italian channels were abundant in anime goodness, and we watched every title we could without fail. Sweet, sweet childhood… I do admit, my spelling in that language is way rusty now, but I still understand it no problem and can read it okay. Sadly, Italian TV has dwindled disastrously now, as it mostly dubs the corny stuff on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon… _sigh_  
Ah! We finally see a new face; I hope it's one you like, because you're going to see plenty of her. I love TenTen, and that's no lie. I certainly noticed she's really witty when she wants to be, and I truly believe she wouldn't like it when she saw friends fighting, hence her reaction to the argument in the story. Plus, she is SO adorable in the spin-off show. She's my main reason for watching. Her and Gaara are my favorites, as well as Sai, but he rarely appears or speaks.  
And can't forget tardy-pants Kakashi-sensei, hee! I wonder what he could have been doing, ne? Still, we love him, anyways, because he is the epitome of cool and all that. _nods_  
So, the blackmailing problem is fixed, but if you think that's the last we're going to see of Meno, think again. She has plenty of evil plans in her spell book of wickedness!  
Believe it or not, amongst my zillions of hidden references in this story, there was one also with the Leonardo DiCaprio thing. Let me explain. We all know he stars in the movie _Titanic_, right? Well, get this. In the Japanese dub, Jack's role was given to none other than Akira Ishida-sempai! Gaara's seiyuu! Isn't that a kick? (I really want the Japanese DVD now, so that I may hear this for myself!)

Here are some notes regarding the wish list.  
For those who are wondering, the Micro Genius console is just the Taiwanese bootleg of the original Nintendo console. Back in my innocent days, I had no idea that other things besides videotapes could be pirated. (I was 4! Give me a break!) I do admit, however, that as a bootleg console, it looked really cool and didn't feel cheap at all. I had this cartridge that had hundreds of titles in 1, and it was a million times better than Action 52 (that's a separate rant for another time); it even came complete with the classic Super Mario Bros. and the best version of Tetris ever. Ah, my childhood…  
Oh, my Sailorjupiter doll… How I miss it…! My mom bought it for me when I was a little girl (the Italian version, very much identical to the Japanese ones) at such a good price. At eBay now… _shudder  
_I'm also on the hunt for a Starmaker doll that doesn't carry an obscenely high price tag. I saw the pocketsize Dream Doll, and it's so gorgeous! I want it very badly…

Now, I shall TRY and work on the next chapter while I have the time, and hope to get a review soon. I will understand if I get none. I do admit I took an insanely long time to update this, for which I can't apologize enough.


End file.
